15 September 2025
Churchill’s wartime visits to Ditchley Park
Mike Montagu, Ditchley’s host and historian, writes of Churchill's wartime weekends at Ditchley in an article published in Finest Hour, a quarterly magazine produced by The International Churchill Society.
“As the Blitz intensified in the second half of 1940, the Prime Minister’s official country residence at Chequers was thought too vulnerable from the air, especially when the moon was full,” writes Mike Montagu.
“Whilst a house in Worcestershire had been allocated previously, the convenience of Ditchley, with its relative proximity to London, comfort, beautiful setting, and generous hospitality, persuaded Churchill to opt for the latter,” he explains. Churchill would go on to spend 12 weekends at Ditchley between late 1940 and autumn 1942.
Mike describes how Churchill’s Ditchley weekends mostly began “with the Prime Minister’s arrival late Friday afternoon in time for a cup of tea or large whiskey-soda in the library before a lie-down ahead of dinner.”
“Churchill was easy to please regarding food and drink, including his particular taste for Pol Roger champagne.”
To read the full article, including details recently found in Ditchley’s guest book from the period, please click here.
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