We are pleased to include a collection of Sir Winston Churchill items in our next Open House sale, which will be live for browsing and bidding until Monday 17 August.
5 August 2026
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The collection of Sir Winston Churchill items were collected by the vendor's grandfather, Edward Charles Wooton, a gardener at Chartwell.
Winston Churchill and his family lived at Chartwell from 1922 until his death in 1965. A passionate gardener, he set about transforming a once dilapidated house, gardens, formal and informal areas, and the private lake. He had a passion for bricklaying and was always involved in the building and planting within the house and gardens. He was quoted as saying ‘A day away from Chartwell is a day wasted.'
A collection of Sir Winston Churchill items
The collection comprises of one of Churchill's iconic half-smoked cigars, as well as a collection of telegrams from November 1955, congratulating him on his 81st birthday. Presents from the overseas dominions and the commonwealth also feature, including an album from Slovakia and photographs of Australian soldiers in the Papua New Guinea in WWII.
Chartwell was acquired by the National Trust in 1946, when a group of friends and admirers bought Chartwell for the Churchills, and immediately gave it to the National Trust. Their one condition was that Winston and Clementine could continue to live there for as long as they wished, after which it would be opened to the public; it opened in the summer of 1966, a year after Churchill died.
This collection of Sir Winston Churchill items, showcased in a sale of over 175 lots, will star in our 11-17 August Open House timed sale.
Viewing is available at our Stansted Mountfitchet Auction Rooms at the following times:
Wednesday 12 August | 10am-3pm
Thursday 13 August | 10am-3pm
Friday 14 August | 10am-3pm
Monday 17 August | 10am-3pm
openhouse@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778
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