Quebec House and Chartwell

Here’s another double dip trip you can do within easy reach of London, Quebec House in Westerham, where General Wolfe of Battle of Quebec fame was brought up, and Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s beloved home, just a few miles down the road. Both are National Trust properties and can be done quite easily in a day. We went there from Worthing, West Sussex via the M23 and M25 if you want a quick run, but if you are staying in London the area is very accessible to visitors being just outside the M25, the London orbital motorway.

Westerham is a little town that tumbles over the Kentish downs at this point, south of the M25. It has a triangle of green in the centre appropriately with statues of both General Wolfe and Churchill. If you are heading east through the centre the main road dips down past the green on the left and then passes Quebec House before bending left where a car park can be found a little further on to the left.

Quebec House

Quebec House sits right on the main road and is backed by the coach house which is now the National Trust official entrance to the property. Here you can pay your entrance fee of £5 then have a cup of tea in the tiny café before climbing the staircase onto the first floor for the exhibition room, a very interesting display on the great war in Canada when General Wolfe took Quebec from the French in 1759 with his British troops and lost his life in the process due to injuries from three musket balls, as did the French commander. Using the St Lawrence River, the British landed below the town and forced the French into a retreat through standing firm. There is a helpful DVD that charts the course of the battle, as well as many helpful wall displays and illustrations on the progress of the battle. Wolfe was a mere 32 years old when he died as a major military commander, makes you wonder what you’ve done with your own life! You could consider him a pivotal figure in world events, because the capture of Quebec led to the capture of Montreal which finished French control of the country. Hence his posthumous title, ‘The Conqueror of Canada.’

The Coach House

Once you’ve read up on the battle, you nip downstairs at the other end, have a peruse around the garden and then station yourself at the front of the main house as we did ready for it to be opened at 1pm. The house is decked out as it would have looked when Wolfe spent his childhood there, lots of dark polished floorboards, displays, rugs and big bits of furniture.

Game table

The bicentenary room

The bicentenary room at the back of the house is a highlight with a military display arrayed across the large table in the centre of the room. Here there is a uniform of the time in bright red livery, a goatskin bag for a soldier to carry his kit, a flintlock musket complete with musket balls and bayonet appendage, a couple of grenades (hence the name grenadier), a case to carry cartridges, a pair of black breeches, and a pair of shoes, both of which are exactly the same, no left and right like today. You can handle the rifle which bears a tidy weight, and finger the goatskin bag, which when new emits a pungent odour which assaults the nostrils as soon as you enter the room with, you’ve guessed it, the smell of goat!

The drawing room

Upstairs the best room is the drawing room at the front of the house where the family would have relaxed, another classic old English space. Here you can practice your calligraphy by picking up a quill, dipping it in the inkwell, and writing upon the free paper provided to see whether you have any talent as a sign-writer. There is also a table with games upon it like cards, etc, and a piano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chartwell - home of Winston Churchill



After you’ve had a quiverful of General Wolfe and his exploits you can jump back in your car and take a right turn off the main road almost opposite Quebec House onto the B2026 which takes you up into the cosy Kentish hills that surround London. It is here that Churchill found his beloved Chartwell that he lived in for so many years from 1924. You follow the country road and then take a left turn up a narrow lane. As you wind round up to the right you stumble upon the site which spreads over a quiet fold in the downs to the left of the road. You can see why Churchill loved it, barely a few miles from the edge of the London conurbation you are in the midst of classic England, enclosed in the North Downs and with a view to die for out to the south and the Kentish Weald.

The house is very distinctive, large but very much a home rather than a mansion. It sits high on the lip of the grounds, looking out over the valley and down to the lake at the bottom. It has quite an ordinary but still impressive enough frontage just off the road, with a gravel drive going in one entrance and out the other.

Chartwell front of house

You can imagine General Eisenhower in his jeep swinging in with a couple of US military police and jumping out dressed in camouflage green to have a parlez-vous with the great man during the war.

The house looks better if you approach it from the National Trust entrance, or from down below in the valley, then its distinctive size and attractive shape come into view.

First room of the tour is a downstairs sitting/living room, then you can see the library before going upstairs to see a large lounge and also dining room with round table and green décor, as well as bedrooms. There is a really nice atmosphere, all peace and quiet and you can see why Churchill loved it. Churchill’s study is a highlight with the standing desk he worked at. Behind this room is his bedroom which it was agreed would be kept from public view. Another section has cabinets showing the various uniforms he used to wear, including the famous siren suit. There is a great museum or exhibition space with exhibits of gifts that were given over the years by foreign dignitaries as well as write ups and photographs of Churchill’s life. You finish in the kitchens before exiting for a bit of fresh air.

Goldfish pond

There is also a great restaurant there where you can take lunch either before or after your visit, and a very interesting shop with lots of inviting gifts to buy for yourself or others. Like a bottle of Wilberforce freedom ale which I bought (and may even drink today if the mood takes me). I love National Trust shops, stuff can be a bit pricey but you are looking at a bit of quality.

You can swan on down to Churchill’s studio where you can see over 130 pictures painted by Churchill himself. How he found time to do all this as well as being a politician, writer, family man and builder one can never know. He obviously liked Mediterranean scenes, visiting islands like Madeira to give his brushes an airing. There are also more mementos displayed, including a letter from Field Marshall Montgomery.

Also you can mosey around the gardens including the walled kitchen garden, some of the brickwork having been done by Churchill himself, and also wander down to the lake where you can see a large sculpture of Churchill. All in all a visit well worth taking. Do it!

Chartwell grounds