Tag: Charting Churchill

Charting Churchill: South Facade, Blenheim Palace

South Facade, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock 2014 by Leslie Hossack

South Facade, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock 2014

© Leslie Hossack

As a small boy, Winston Churchill lived with his parents, Lord & Lady Randolph Churchill, and his baby brother Jack, at 29 St. James’s Place in the heart of London. Their townhouse was very close to Green Park, and not far from Hyde Park. These huge public parks provided Winston with expansive green spaces to explore close to home.

Away from home, Winston often visited his grandparents, the Duke & Duchess of Marlborough, at Blenheim Palace. Here was Winston’s preferred playground. Over 2,000 acres of private parks and gardens surrounded the palace. From Blenheim, Winston wrote to his mother: “The gardens and Park are so much nicer to walk in than the Green Park or Hyde Park.”

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace in 1874. Today, Blenheim Palace, a World Heritage Site, is described by UNESCO as follows. “The Palace sits within a large walled landscape park, the structure by Vanbrugh overlaid by the designs of Lancelot “Capability” Brown from 1761 onwards. The design and building of the Palace between 1705 and 1722 represented the beginning of a new style of architecture and its landscaped Park, designed by Lancelot “Capability” Brown, is considered “a naturalistic Versailles.”

The image featured above is part of the limited edition collector’s portfolio created by Leslie Hossack to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill. She presents locations that chart Churchill’s personal and political life, from his birth at Blenheim Palace in 1874 until his death in London in 1965. THE CHURCHILL PHOTOGRAPHS are part of Hossack’s larger body of work that explores Nazi architecture in Berlin, Stalinist structures in Moscow, contested sites in Jerusalem, a Cold War bunker in Ottawa, NATO’s Headquarter Camp in Kosovo, and buildings linked to the Japanese Canadian internment during World War II.

To view more photographs, please visit Leslie’s website.  lesliehossack.com

Charting Churchill: 29 St. James’s Place, London

Churchill Residence at 29 St. James's Place, London 2014 by Leslie Hossack

Churchill Residence, 29 St. James’s Place, London 2014

© Leslie Hossack

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace in 1874. His first recorded memories are of the years in Ireland when the family lived in Little Lodge, Dublin. His father, Lord Randolph, served as secretary to his own father from 1876 to 1879. The family moved back to London in 1880, after the birth of Winston’s brother John Strange Spencer Churchill.

In April 1880, when Winston was five, Lord and Lady Randolph moved their growing family into the house above, at 29 St. James’s Place in London.

In his book My Early Life, Winston Churchill wrote about his time in this house as he faced the miserable prospect of being sent away to school for the first time. “After all, I was only seven, and I had been so happy in my nursery with all my toys. I had such wonderful toys: a real steam engine, a magic lantern, and a collection of soldiers already nearly a thousand strong.”

Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace, had an enormous influence on his life. As a boy, he often visited his grandparents there. During the time that his family was living in the London house shown above, eight year old Winston wrote a letter to his mother from Blenheim. “My Dear Mamma, I hope you are quite well. I thank you very very much for the beautiful presents those Soldiers and Flags and Castle they are so nice it was so kind of you and dear Papa I send you my love and a great many kisses Your loving Winston”

Winston’s childhood interest in toy soldiers appears prophetic. During World War II, Churchill became Prime Minister on May 10th, 1940, and he is widely regarded as the inspirational leader who saved western civilization from Nazi tyranny. He also achieved fame as a soldier, writer, orator and parliamentarian.

The image featured above is part of the limited edition collector’s portfolio created by Leslie Hossack to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill. She presents locations that chart Churchill’s personal and political life, from his birth at Blenheim Palace in 1874 until his death in London in 1965. THE CHURCHILL PHOTOGRAPHS are part of Hossack’s larger body of work that explores Nazi architecture in Berlin, Stalinist structures in Moscow, contested sites in Jerusalem, a Cold War bunker in Ottawa, NATO’s Headquarter Camp in Kosovo, and buildings linked to the Japanese Canadian internment during World War II.

To view more photographs, please visit Leslie’s website.  lesliehossack.com

Sir Winston Churchill’s 140th Birthday

Sir Winston Churchill's Birth Room, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, 2014 by Leslie Hossack

Sir Winston Churchill’s Birth Room, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, 2014

© Leslie Hossack

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born 140 years ago at Blenheim Palace on the 30th of November 1874. His father, Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill, was the Member of Parliament for Woodstock, and his mother was American Jennie Jerome.

When Winston was born, his parents were visiting his grandparents. Winston’s grandfather was the 7th Duke of Marlborough; Blenheim Palace had been built to honour the 1st Duke of Marlborough’s victory over the French in 1704.

Blenheim Palace had an enormous influence on Sir Winston Churchill during his long and remarkable life. In 1951 he wrote: “I am proud to be born at Blenheim.”

The image above shows Winston Churchill’s birth room at Blenheim Palace. It is the first in a series of photographs by Leslie Hossack that examines the extraordinary life of Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, from his birth in 1874 until his death in 1965.

Churchill became Prime Minister on May 10th, 1940, and he is widely regarded as the resolute, inspirational leader who saved western civilization from Nazi tyranny. He also achieved fame as a soldier, writer, orator and parliamentarian. In addition, he is known as a man who loved his family and the life of luxury.

The image featured above is part of the limited edition collector’s portfolio created by Leslie Hossack to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill. She presents locations that chart Churchill’s personal and political life, from his birth at Blenheim Palace in 1874 until his death in London in 1965. THE CHURCHILL PHOTOGRAPHS are part of Hossack’s larger body of work that explores Nazi architecture in Berlin, Stalinist structures in Moscow, contested sites in Jerusalem, a Cold War bunker in Ottawa, NATO’s Headquarter Camp in Kosovo, and buildings linked to the Japanese Canadian internment during World War II.

To view more photographs, please visit Leslie’s website.  lesliehossack.com