PUBLIC PLACES
The house at Chartwell, where many of Churchill’s finest words were written
A visitor using the new audio guide
said Henry Jarvis, the National Trust’s Senior Marketing and Communications Manager at Chartwell.
“The house is closed each November over the winter months whilst the National Trust team complete significant conservation work to the Churchill collection.” The gardens and grounds at Chartwell are very much the focus of a new initiative just launched by the National Trust. It comes in the form of a hand-held audio guide now freely available to visitors. Tim Parker explains the thinking behind of the guide:
“Chartwell became a place where
Churchill could pursue his fascination for nature and wildlife. From the Rose
Garden, much loved by Clementine Churchill, and the fruit and vegetables framed by the walls that Sir Winston helped build, to
the tree-house inspired by one constructed for the Churchill children, the outdoors here is a canvas touched by the lives and memories of the family. The guide helps paint the picture for visitors.”
He goes on to describe the venture as ‘leading edge’ in the way the Trust promotes the outdoors at its properties. “How do you make gardens and grounds look authentic without telling visitors what’s what? It’s been an abiding issue for us at Chartwell, and it’s a challenge for many a National Trust property,” added Tim. “We don’t do plant labelling, as some attractions do, so that’s where the new audio guide is such a plus. It informs about what’s here, why and how in a very personal way.”
The new audio guide features memories and untold stories with excerpts from Nicholas Soames, Churchill’s grandson, Heather White-Smith, secretary to Winston Churchill from 1953 to 1956, and Martin Drury, Churchill family friend and former National Trust curator. It also uses letters and documents that piece together life outdoors at Chartwell. Narrated by actor Christian McKay of The Theory of Everything,
Tinker T
ailor Solider Spyand ITV’s
Churchill’s Secret,the one-hour audio guide is offered as part of the admission charge or National Trust membership. On top of this, it also includes ‘seasonal
picks and tips’ from Tim Parker, highlighting changing nature around the year at Chartwell.
Further topics will be added to the guide in 2020, including a tour of the views Churchill painted, the landscaping work Churchill undertook, and more seasonal plant highlights.
All of the audio guides are funded by the National Trust’s Churchill’s Chartwell Appeal, which enables all things Churchill to be acquired, maintained and seen at his home in Kent. This flourishes thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Royal Oak Foundation, the National Trust itself, plus private donations from members of the public. Tim Parker heads up what the National
Trust calls a portfolio operation. As well as the extensive grounds at Chartwell, he is in charge of the upkeep of Emmetts Garden, a few miles away, and Quebec House in nearby Westerham, which was the childhood home of famous 18th century soldier James Wolfe. He’s now in his fifth year in this role, after nearly seventeen all
The newly constructed plant quarantine area 112 PC December/January 2020
Tim Parker, in charge of Chartwell upkeep and two other National Trust properties
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