Tree

Kensington Town Hall - Churchill

Erection date: 1967

Inscription

Sequoiadendron giganteum - a giant amongst trees in memory of a giant amongst men, the right honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG OM CH FRS.

The Sequoiadendron giganteum, otherwise known as the Giant Redwood, was discovered by Europeans in California in 1833. More pictures at Redwood World (where they have found Redwoods at 12 sites in London).

The 'inscription' is on the steel upright encircling the tree and forming a back rest to the brick seat. The tree was planted by Baroness Churchill in 1967.

2020: However, via Facebook, Roger James Morgan, said: "No it wasn't - the one she planted died. I was there." Roger must mean that he was there for the tree planting and afterwards saw that the tree had died, not that he was there at the moment the tree died. Which raises an existential question - is there a moment at which a tree dies?

Site: Kensington Town Hall - Royal Golden Wedding & Churchill (2 memorials)

W8, Hornton Street

Kensington and Chelsea Civic Centre by Sir Basil Spence was constructed in 1972-6 on open land on which the existing trees were preserved. RBKC's virtual museum has an image of the land before construction began, showing a few trees but we think it was taken before the Redwood was planted.

This Town Hall replaced the old Kensington Town Hall which was on the High Street and which we discuss (you may think, oddly) on our page for Chelsea Old Town Hall.

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This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Kensington Town Hall - Churchill

Subjects commemorated i

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister 1940 - 45 and 1951 - 55. Born Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock,...

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This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Kensington Town Hall - Churchill

Created by i

Lady Spencer-Churchill

Clementine, married Winston Churchill in 1908. Born 75 Grosvenor Street as C...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Kensington Town Hall - Churchill

Also at this site i

Kensington Town Hall - Royal Golden Wedding

Kensington Town Hall - Royal Golden Wedding

Surprisingly this is, so far, the only memorial to the royal Golden Wedding t...

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Nearby Memorials

Peggy Temple tree

Peggy Temple tree

E9, Victoria Park, rose garden area

In memory of Peggy Temple, 1924 - 1990, founder member of Victoria Park Society.

2 subjects commemorated
Norwood Grove tree 2 - MacDonald

Norwood Grove tree 2 - MacDonald

SW16, Norwood Grove, garden

The RHS describe this type of tree as: "A handsome pyramid shaped conifer".

2 creators
Hiroshima tree - Furnivall Gardens

Hiroshima tree - Furnivall Gardens

W6, Furnivall Gardens

This tree is a memorial to the dead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

1 subject commemorated
George and Rose Wileman

George and Rose Wileman

W8, Holland Park

'One Life, One Love' may reference the Chris de Burgh song. We can find no information about George and Rose.

2 subjects commemorated
Sydney Albert Harding

Sydney Albert Harding

SW1, Denbigh Street and St George's Drive

Shortly after we published, our colleague, Andrew Behan, spotted that we'd misread Harding's birth year. We had 1919 but on closer examin...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator