The Walled Garden at Chartwell




From fruit and vegetables, beautiful cut flower beds to the golden rose avenue - and not forgetting the chickens! - the Walled Garden has a bit of everything.
Churchill the gardener
The present walled garden dates from the mid 1920s when the surrounding brick wall was built. A productive garden was certainly mentioned in the sale particulars when Churchill bought the house in 1922 but was probably sited where the croquet lawn now lies.
Churchill was an enthusiastic amateur bricklayer and a plaque on these walls states 'The greater part of this wall was built between the years 1925 & 1932 by Winston with his own hands'. You can still see this plaque in the garden today.
As a large country house, Chartwell almost certainly always had a garden to provide fresh fruit and vegetables to the family. The garden provided an essential and practically self-sufficient source of produce for the Churchill family. For many years fresh produce was sent to Churchill's London home for Mrs Georgina Landemare, the family cook to use, sent by car every Monday and a hamper by train on Thursdays.
Reinstating the garden
The area fell into disrepair during the war but then accelerated once more when Churchill retired from office in 1955. The National Trust stepped in further when a master plan was prepared to reinstate the garden in 2003 using old diaries from Churchill's last Head Gardener, Victor Vincent, as well as invoices and paintings as guides.
The area today is as magnificent as it has ever been and undoubtedly one of the jewels in the Chartwell garden crown. It remains a working garden and now supplies the Chartwell café with fresh produce.
Cut flower beds
During the spring and summer, head down to the walled garden to find the cut flower beds bursting with bright and bold colours.
Sunflowers, dahlias, peonies and many, many more can be found throughout the warmer months, all bring beautiful sights and smells to a stroll around the walled garden.
As you head around the house, keep your eyes peeled for flower displays, all brought in fresh from the cut flower beds and lovingly arranged by our wonderful volunteers.