Archive for the tag 'Churchill'

Blenheim Palace was built in the early 18th Century to celebrate the victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession.
In particular, it was built as a gift to the 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, the military commander who led the Allied forces in the Battle of Blenheim on 13th August 1704. [...]

16 Comments CherryPie on Jun 2nd 2015

On the weekend of the 21st and 22nd April, the National Trust are opening over 200 of their houses and gardens for free:

Join us for our free weekend on 21 & 22 April and explore over 200 of our houses and gardens for free – as well as all the countryside spaces we care for [...]

2 Comments CherryPie on Apr 19th 2012

I love the contrast between the bright blue of the water in the swimming pool and the deep green of the water in the upper lake.
In the early years of their occupation at Chartwell, the Churchills used to use the lakes for swimming. You can see the lower lake in this previous post of [...]

10 Comments CherryPie on Nov 19th 2009

This is the north-east corner of the house, where visitors emerge after the tour. Although it can’t be seen in the picture, on the wall to the left is a slate tablet that commemorates the seventeen benefactors who donated Chartwell to the National Trust in 1946 on the condition that the Churchills could remain [...]

9 Comments CherryPie on Nov 17th 2009

The Marlborough Pavilion was built as a summer house in the mid 1920s and decorated in 1949 by Churchill’s nephew, John Spencer Churchill. The theme of the decoration is John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough who was Churchill’s oldest ancestor:

On the north wall are the motto, Fiel Pero Desdichado (‘Faithful but Unfortunate’) – a [...]

20 Comments CherryPie on Nov 15th 2009

This is one of Churchill’s favorite spots at Chartwell, a place where he loved to sit and rest, feed the goldfish or simply relax and paint. The view is much the same as when Churchill enjoyed it, although the trees that would have formed the backdrop to the scene were brought down in the [...]

12 Comments CherryPie on Nov 12th 2009