The home of the 'British Oskar Schindler', who saved 669 children from the Nazis, is for sale in Berkshire
Sir Nicholas Winton's courageous and heartbreaking story only came out when his wife discovered an old scrapbook at the house they built together.
A few weeks before Christmas 1938, some nine months before the outbreak of the Second World War, a young stockbroker called Nicholas Winton was all packed and ready to go on a skiing holiday to Switzerland. A phone call from a friend, Martin Blake, changed his plans — and saved the life of hundreds of children.
Winton had long been aware of the threat of Nazism. His parents were German-Jews who'd left for England before the First World War, and though he lived a good life as a stockbroker he moved in Socialist circles, and was only too aware of the growing threat of Nazism. The Swiss holiday was cancelled, and he instead went to Prague to see what he could do to help.
What he found shocked him. Desperate families living in fear, appalling conditions in the camps where many Jews were already being held, and impossible red tape blocking any of them from leaving Czechoslovakia. He had no legal training and no experience in relocating people, but he set about seeing what he could do.
He took a hotel room in Prague and set it up as an office, working around the clock. Two weeks later, he had a huge list of children, their families, addresses and passport-style photographs, and headed back to London to try and find a way to get them out.
What followed was months of battling authorities, finding sponsor families happy to take the children in (a condition of the British government allowing them to stay) and putting in place financial guarantees intended to pay for the eventual return of the children to their families. He linked up with others trying to help refugees, notably the heroic Doreen Warriner, and set up his own office in London, run by his mother and staffed by volunteers. They begged and cajoled, negotiated and lobbied, even — by Winton's own admission — resorting to forging documents for some of the children when official channels were proving too slow.
Amazingly, it worked and train journeys across Europe began, eventually allowing 669 children, the vast majority of them Jewish, to traverse the continent and get on a ship to London.
Nicholas Winton kept his heroic actions a secret for most of his life.
For years, Winton barely told a soul about what he'd done. He'd never expected nor sought praise, and indeed remained heartbroken that more couldn't have been saved — the USA, among other countries, refused to allow any Czech refugee children in to the country. What was even more heartbreaking, was that a further trainload of 250 children were at the station, and indeed thought to have been sitting on the train ready to depart Prague for London on September 1, 1939. The start of the war meant that the train never left the station; only two of those children are thought to have made it through the war.
Recognition eventually came by chance when Winton's wife, Grete, found an old scrapbook in storage which had all the details of the work her husband had done. She contact the BBC, who told the story on an unforgettable episode of That's Life, in which Winton met many of the refugees he'd saved — most of whom had no idea how they'd escaped the country.
Those 669 children went on to have lives, careers, children and grandchildren of their own; a 60 Minutes programme about Winton which aired shortly before his death in 2015 estimated that some 15,000 people owe their lives to the north London stockbroker. If you do nothing else today, theThat's Life programme from 1989 and the 60 Minutes episode from 2014 are more than worth half an hour of your time. There's also a film of his life: One Life, starring Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter — and if you happen to be in Prague, you'll find a statue of Winton at the railway station.
Fascinating though Winton's story is, you may be wondering what it has to do with the property section of Country Life. Well, the house built for Winton in the 1950s on the outskirts of Maidenhead has now hit the market with Hamptons for £3,850,000.
The current owners bought it in 2017, two years after Winton died at the age of 106. How wonderful that a man who did so much good lived a long and happy life.
Since then, it has been, in Hamptons’ words, ‘masterfully rebuilt from scratch, and reimagined into a distinguished state-of-the-art residence, combining architectural elegance with refined modern living’.
This striking contemporary home is largely wrapped in vertical timber cladding and features extensive Crittall-style glazing. If the Scandi aesthetic is your bag, then you’ll love this house.
Owner Hugh Chambers explains: ‘When we first saw New Ditton and heard the incredible story of Sir Nicholas Winton, we were inspired to build on his original architectural style, influenced by his Danish wife, and extend this into a light and contemporary Scandinavian look and feel.
‘The house we built is designed as both a warm family home as well as a spectacular entertaining space. We like to think that Sir Nicholas would have approved of the happiness and laughter that now fills his wonderful house.’
There are huge, bright living spaces throughout the home, thanks to floor-to-ceiling Crittall-style glazing both inside and out. The enormous kitchen and dining room deserves a particular shout-out. It’s split across two levels, with a white-panelled, vaulted ceiling and double-height glazed walls providing sweeping views across the garden.
Beyond it is a pantry and a laundry room as well as a bedroom with an ensuite.
Also on the ground floor are three reception rooms - drawing room, sitting room and study — all impeccably styled with a neutral colour palette that complements the contemporary design.
Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom. The main bedroom even comes with two dressing areas.
According to Hamptons, modern finishes in the house include underfloor heating, B&W and Sonos sound systems, and full LAN data network. It seems no stone has been left unturned.
This extends to the grounds too, which are enclosed by old brick walls. There’s a large terrace, with a seating area anchored by beautiful olive trees, and carefully-maintained lawns and flower beds. A large football pitch is a reminder that despite its immaculate style, New Ditton is still very much a family home.
Sir Nicholas Winton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 for 'services to humanity, in saving Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia', and in 2014 was awarded the highest honour of the Czech Republic, the Order of the White Lion (1st class), by Czech President Miloš Zeman.
The grounds also include an annexe and an adjoining gym. There is planning permission in place to combine the two to create one large space. A separate garage, also timber clad, provides further storage.
Hamptons Prime agent Charles Wellbelove describes New Ditton as ‘a seamless architectural masterpiece’ with ‘beautiful landscape gardens offering immense seclusion and privacy’.
He adds: ‘This delightful and very comfortable home benefits with fantastic access to London especially by the Elizabeth Line located only a few miles away.’
New Ditton is for sale via Hamptons — see more details.
