Chartwell's black swans

Churchill's 'swan talk'

The first black swans at Chartwell were a gift to Churchill from Sir Phillip Sassoon, a well-known politician of the day who served as private secretary to Field Marshal Haig during the First World War.

Churchill was a great lover of animals from his cats and dogs to his pet lion Rota (who rather sensibly was kept at London Zoo). He was devoted to his swans too and would frequently converse with them in 'swan-talk'  in which he claimed to be an expert.

A post­war body­guard, Ronald Gold­ing, however revealed his swan-talk to be a myth, as the swans would simply make noise at any­one who came close to them:

"It was some time after this dis­cov­ery that I was walk­ing down to the lake with Mr. Churchill. I was a lit­tle in front, and watched care­ful­ly for the crit­i­cal spot. I then called out in 'swan-talk' and the birds duti­ful­ly replied. Mr. Churchill stopped dead. I turned round and he looked me full in the eye for a moment or two. Then the faintest sus­pi­cion of a smile appeared and he walked on in silence. No com­ment was ever made that this secret was shared."

Swan sanctuary

Back in Churchill’s time the population at Chartwell was frequently hit by cunning foxes and mink.

Replacements were always arriving though to top up the flock, including a pair sent as a gift from the Government of Western Australia.

Fast forward to modern times where in 2009 our gardeners created a floating island within the lakes to help the swans hide from hungry predators.

Help us look after our swans

Please help us take care of our black swans by not feeding them and keeping a short distance from them. Wildfowl are sensitive and may peck if they feel uncomfortable. Thank you.