140 years ago, on 12th August 1873, Winston Churchill’s parents, Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill and Jennie Jerome, met on a boat off the Isle of Wight. They fell instantly in love and within three days were engaged to be married.

They were attending a party on board the HMS Ariadne, moored just off Cowes and organised by Queen Victoria’s son the Prince of Wales, and were engaged at Rosetta Cottage on Cowes Esplanade. This exhibition celebrates this chance meeting, without which Winston might never have been born, and explores the many connections between the Churchill family and the Isle of Wight.

The exhibition runs from 27th July to 1st September 2013. Dimbola is open 7 days a week from 10am - 5pm.

Image: The Town of West Cowes, Isle of Wight, 1857 by G. Branon

Exhibition sponsored by the Isle of Wight County Press