Visitors to Chartwell, Blenheim and seventeen other properties will no longer be able to purchase a mug depicting the flag of the nation whose heritage they have just paid fourteen pounds to visit.

By Our Heritage Correspondent · 03 May 2026 · Woke Watch

The National Trust has confirmed that its flagship gift shop range of Union Jack mugs, tea towels and commemorative tins will be replaced across all properties this summer with a new collection entitled “Flags of Our Colonial Shame,” featuring the national symbols of forty-three countries described in the accompanying brochure as “nations whose stories are inextricably woven into Britain’s complicated past.”

The range retails from £12.99 for a teatowel to £34.99 for a limited edition “Transatlantic Slave Trade Routes” commemorative tin, which the brochure describes as “a conversation starter.” According to staff it has not started any conversations but has ended several.

The range has been developed in partnership with the Albion Decolonisation Consultancy, a London-based organisation whose website describes its mission as “reframing heritage spaces as sites of reckoning.” Insider sources claimed the consultancy charged £340,000 for the project.

Also on display, a £24.99 candle described as “Sugarcane & Reflection,” comes with a card explaining the historical context of the British sugar trade. The candle smells of vanilla with a tinge of sweat.

Visitors leaving Chartwell, the former home of Winston Churchill, will now be offered a tote bag bearing the flags of Sudan, Egypt and India alongside the caption “Some Empires Leave Marks.” The Churchill mug, which has been the property’s bestselling item for thirty-one consecutive years, has been withdrawn pending “a review of its messaging.”

“I’ve got nothing against other countries,” said Margaret Fenn, 67, parish councillor, encountered outside the Chartwell tea room. “But when I come to visit Winston Churchill’s house I expect to be able to buy a mug with a Union Jack on it. That is not an unreasonable position.”

It is not an unreasonable position.

A new report from the Cultural Policy Foundation, based at Tufton Street, Westminster, found that 84 percent of National Trust visitors “strongly agreed” that the organisation had “lost the plot.” The Foundation described the findings as “stark.” It noted that the survey was conducted outside Chartwell on a Tuesday in April, and that the sample size was 67, but said this did not affect the conclusions.

The National Trust said it remained “committed to welcoming visitors of all backgrounds” and that the new range had been “positively received in focus groups.” It did not specify which focus groups and it did not respond to follow-up questions.

The Union Jack mug is available on eBay from £4.99. Seventeen sellers have added stock in the last 48 hours.