Much to the delight and amusement of all at Chilworth Manor, the extraordinary figure of Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough, has recently been brought to vigorous life in the BAFTA winning and Oscar-nominated film, The Favourite!

She is especially close to our hearts as in the 1720s Sarah bought the estate at Chilworth and built the north wing of the property adjacent to the Walled Garden.

As Rachel Weisz, who won a BAFTA for her role as Sarah Churchill, portrays so well, she was a powerful individual who knew her own mind and once famously wrote that she didn’t need an architect (Vanbrugh) to complete Blenheim Palace.  Looking at her wing at Chilworth Manor though, we rather think she did as it sits in a curious off-center position in relation to the garden!

Still, it is fascinating to know she may have once walked these corridors.