Editing Chartwell (section)

=== Farms and stables ===
In 1946–47, Churchill extended his land-holdings around Chartwell, purchasing Chartwell Farm and Parkside Farm, and subsequently Bardogs Farm and a market garden. By 1948, he was farming approximately 500 acres.{{sfn|Soames|1998|pp=541–542}} The farms were managed by Mary Soames's husband, [[Christopher Soames|Christopher]],{{sfn|Buczacki|2007|p=236}} and Churchill kept cattle and pigs and also grew crops and market vegetables. The farms did not prove profitable, and by 1952 Churchill's operating losses on them exceeded £10,000 a year.{{sfn|Buczacki|2007|p=240}} By the end of the decade, both the farms and the livestock had been sold.{{sfn|Buczacki|2007|p=244}}

A more lucrative venture was the owning, and later breeding, of racehorses. In 1949, Churchill had purchased Colonist II, who won his first race, the [[Upavon Fillies' Stakes|Upavon Stakes]], at [[Salisbury Racecourse|Salisbury]] that year, and subsequently netted Churchill £13,000 in winnings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-125/winston-churchill-and-colonist-ii|title=Winston Churchill and Colonist II|last=Glueckstein|first=Fred|date=December 2004|access-date=13 August 2013|publisher=The International Churchill Society|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716030316/http://www.winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-125/winston-churchill-and-colonist-ii|archive-date=16 July 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 1955, Churchill bought the Newchapel Stud and by 1961 his total prize money from racing exceeded £70,000.{{sfn|Buczacki|2007|p=248}} In the 1950s, he reflected on his racing career; "Perhaps [[Divine providence|Providence]] had given him Colonist as a comfort in his old age and to console him for disappointments".{{sfn|Gilbert|1988|p=563}}