Churchill

The Green Years: 1874-1908

Churchill’s early life appears to be set among England’s landed gentry, but really that is not the case. In certain ways, his blue blood heritage was attenuated, if not tainted. His family heritage was not held in very high regard, noted neither for its public service nor its affluence. The family’s founder was a swashbuckling fellow named John Churchill, who was victorious in the battles of Ramillies, Blenheim and Malplaquet in the 18th century. As a result, he received a mansion and other rewards. John Churchill had a reputation for single-minded advancement and self-promotion, however, as the mansion’s name, Blenheim Palace, and its showy architecture might suggest.

Those who followed John’s legacy did little to distinguish themselves. The most respectable was Winston’s grandfather, who served as a member of parliament for 10 years and was the "Lord Lieutenant" of Ireland for the last four years of the second Disraeli government. Winston Churchill, himself, was never actually a landowner, with the exception of the 300 acres surrounding Chartwell, the house only 24 miles from London that he purchased in 1922 and very nearly lost on several...