A female gardener has been awarded £46,000 after claiming she was denied a promotion for speaking out against managers.
Claire Bryant, 63, claimed sex discrimination and harassment when overlooked for a job against a less-qualified male applicant.
Ms Byrant, a gardener at Sir Winston Churchill's Chartwell home, said the employment dispute started during a debate around tea breaks at the National Trust.
Ms Bryant said after backing the volunteers and 'challenging' managers, she was "humiliated" and was criticised in front of the public as part of the interview process for the post of senior gardener.
A less senior male was then offered the role.
Ms Bryant had won numerous awards and "absolutely loved" her job as a manager at Chartwell in Kent, where Churchill lived for 40 years.
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She said: "The volunteers were rightly very upset. They were giving their time for free...regardless of the weather, and they would never abuse the tea breaks. I raised this, and I think that is probably where the difficulty started. It was ridiculous, it was like a tea break-gate."
But she felt that her "card was marked" over the dispute about breaks and said the charity "completely broke her spirit".
Speaking after the case, Ms Bryant said: "I felt relief that I didn't have to feel intimidated or afraid any more, and relief that I had my voice heard because I had been shouting into the wind.
"I can honestly say, I have never been closer to a complete nervous breakdown than I have through the last three years.
"It's about being able to stand up for yourself. I wouldn't want any of my family, or anybody's family, to have to go through this. It has been horrendous. It really knocked every ounce of confidence I have got. But for me, it has never been about the money."
In a tribunal which concluded last month, employment judges unanimously ruled that Claire Bryant was "constructively unfairly dismissed" by the charity.
The panel found discrimination and harassment when Ms Bryant quit in 2018 after five years' work.
The National Trust said it was "clearly disappointed by the decision" but said it was made clear the discrimination was not deliberate.
