Winston Churchill had many pets during his 40 years at Chartwell, his beloved country home in Kent. He kept pigs, dogs, goats, black swans, goldfish, and bantam chickens. But no animal meant more to him than his cat.

For his 88th birthday in November 1962, Churchill’s friend Sir John Colville gave him a ginger cat with a white chest and white paws. Churchill named the cat Jock after his friend. The cat became his constant companion in his final years. Churchill loved Jock so much that he insisted meals could not start until the cat was sitting at the table with him. When Churchill traveled between Chartwell and his London home at Hyde Park Gate, Jock came with him. On July 27, 1964, Churchill visited the House of Commons for the last time. He was in frail health and walked with a cane. A photograph captured him leaving his London home for Parliament, wearing a dark bow tie and black jacket. In the foreground of that photograph was Jock. Churchill died at Hyde Park Gate on January 24, 1965, at the age of 90. Jock was at his bedside. After Churchill’s death, the National Trust took possession of Chartwell, which had been sold to a group of friends led by Lord Camrose back in 1946. The arrangement allowed Churchill and his wife, Clementine, to live there for as long as they wanted. When the National Trust opened Chartwell to the public in 1966, the Churchill family made a specific request. They asked that there should always be a marmalade cat named Jock, with a white bib and four white socks, living in a comfortable residence at Chartwell. The National Trust has honored that request ever since. The original Jock lived at Chartwell until 1975, when he died at the age of 13. He was buried at Chartwell on the top terrace, next to Churchill’s two poodles, Rufus and Rufus II. Since then, there has been a succession of ginger cats named Jock living at the house. In May 2020, Jock VII arrived at Chartwell, a six-month-old rescue kitten who had been saved by the RSPCA along with 30 other cats from terrible conditions. He has a mischievous personality and spends his days investigating what the gardeners are doing, playing in the orchard grass, and getting cuddles on the sofa. If you visit Chartwell today, you might catch a glimpse of him. Churchill would have been pleased to know that a marmalade cat still lives comfortably in the home he loved. via The Medieval and Modern History Vault

1:23 AM · Feb 8, 2026

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