Chartwell’s current resident is called Jock VII. And this red cat is not there by chance, it is part of a very special tradition. It all started with the first “jock”, A red cat offered By John Colville to Winston Churchill, for his 88th birthday. Colville, also nicknamed “Jock”, was the private secretary of the English Prime Minister.
It is said that Churchill got along very well with catsand adored “Jock”. This is why, in 1966, less than a year after the death of the one called “the old lion”, his family made a special request. When the house was bequeathed At the National Trust (the Historic Monuments Service in the United Kingdom), the family wanted a red cat called “Jock” Let are always present in Chartwell.
The old house of Churchill has therefore welcomed seven different cats since 1966. Jock VII, the current resident, was initially called Sunshine. He was saved by the RSPCA (the English equivalent of the SPA) in 2020, then adopted by Viktoria Austen, the head of the Visitor’s experience of Chartwell.
