the original building as "Victorian architecture at its least attractive". The house is Grade I listed but its brief, Historic England listing makes clear that this is "for historical reasons" rather than for its architectural merit. The gardens are Grade II* listed. Gardens and estate The gardens surrounding the house comprise , with a further of parkland. They are predominantly the creation of the Churchills, with significant later input from Lanning Roper, Gardens Adviser to the National Trust. The Victorian garden had been planted with conifers and rhododendrons which were typical of the period. The Churchills removed much of this planting, while retaining the woodlands beyond. Within the garden proper, they created almost all of the landscape, architectural and water features seen today. The garden front of the house opens onto a terraced lawn, originally separated from the garden beyond by a ha-ha and subsequently by a Kentish ragstone wall constructed in the 1950s. To the north lies the Rose garden, laid out by Lady Churchill and her cousin Venetia Stanley. The nearby Marlborough Pavilion was built by Tilden and decorated with frescos by Churchill's nephew, John Spencer Churchill in 1949. Beyond the Rose Garden is the Water Garden, constructed by the Churchills and including the Golden Orfe pond where Churchill fed his fish, and the swimming pool constructed in the 1930s. Churchill sought advice from his friend and scientific guru Professor Lindemann on the optimal methods for heating and cleaning the pool. To the south is the croquet lawn, previously a tennis court—Lady Churchill was an accomplished and competitive player of both, although Churchill was not. Beyond the lawn are several structures grouped around the Victorian kitchen garden, many of which Churchill was involved in building. He had developed an interest in bricklaying when he bought Chartwell and throughout the 1920s and 1930s constructed walls, a summerhouse and some houses on the estate. In 1928, he joined the Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers, a move which caused controversy. Near the kitchen garden is the Golden Rose walk containing thirty-two varieties of golden roses, a Golden Wedding anniversary present to the Churchills from their children in 1958, and Churchill's painting studio, constructed in the 1930s, which now houses a large collection of his artistic works. South of the terrace lawn are the Upper and Lower lakes, scene of Churchill's most ambitious landscaping schemes. The Lower lake had existed during