National Trust recreates Winston Churchill's butterfly house
A butterfly house where Winston Churchill took refuge in the turbulent post war years has been renovated by the National Trust.
The former prime minister and wartime leader converted a summer house in the grounds of his home Chartwell in Kent at the end of the Second World War.
The building, which fell into disrepair in the 1950s, became a refuge of peace in the turbulent post war years where despite his heroics during the war led to him being defeated in the general election.
Now the National Trust is breeding insects for the first time in 50 years in the newly refurbished butterfly house, which has been opened to the public.
So far painted ladies and peacock butterflies have fluttered out into the garden.
Eventually other native species such as swallowtails, speckled woods and small tortoiseshells will emerge.
The Trust consulted the plans of the local ‘butterfly farmer’ L. Hugh Newman, who completed the work in 1946, to make sure the butterfly house is recreated as Churchill would have known it.
On Saturday the country is celebrating the famous 1940 "The Few" speech which included the line "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The former prime minister and wartime leader converted a summer house in the grounds of his home Chartwell in Kent at the end of the Second World War.
The building, which fell into disrepair in the 1950s, became a refuge of peace in the turbulent post war years where despite his heroics during the war led to him being defeated in the general election.
Now the National Trust is breeding insects for the first time in 50 years in the newly refurbished butterfly house, which has been opened to the public.
So far painted ladies and peacock butterflies have fluttered out into the garden.
Eventually other native species such as swallowtails, speckled woods and small tortoiseshells will emerge.
The Trust consulted the plans of the local ‘butterfly farmer’ L. Hugh Newman, who completed the work in 1946, to make sure the butterfly house is recreated as Churchill would have known it.
On Saturday the country is celebrating the famous 1940 "The Few" speech which included the line "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"....