A generous donation from the Croydon and District Centre for members of the National Trust has helped to give the Museum and Uniform Rooms at Chartwell a bold new facelift.
After three successful seasons of a temporary exhibition, the original contents of the rooms have been reinstated, but the presentation and information has been improved with a brave return to the bold and vibrant colour scheme of the 1960s.
The new-look rooms were revealed at a recent opening ceremony attended by members of the Croydon and District Centre and Lady Soames, the Churchill’s youngest daughter.
The inspiration behind the new colours came from an exciting discovery made during the course of research into the history of the museum: a selection of postcards dating from the 1960s showed the room to have a rather different appearance from that of recent years.
Lady Churchill was responsible for the original design of the Museum and Uniform Rooms, and it is thought that she based the striking colour scheme of dark blue walls and red case linings on a window display she had admired at Liberty of Regent Street. She is also thought to have personally selected the objects and uniforms for display, which include two bowls in the form of Viking long-boats (a gift from Marshal Stalin), the Sandown Park Gold Cup won by Churchill’s ‘Vienna’, and his Chancellor’s robes. The inspiration for the whole project, however, came from the ‘Greatest Briton’ himself, Sir Winston Churchill:
'I have long had an idea of building a small museum at Chartwell in which many things of personal interest could be displayed including numbers of my pictures and the trophies which have been given to me.'
A 'Hidden Treasures' case, showing previously unseen items from the reserve collection, is also on display and its contents will change each season.
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