The garden
The House and garden
The House and garden
The Church and House
Earlier Houses: There was probably a Medieval house on the site of the current house.
Built / Designed For: Sir William Jones
House & Family History: Overlooking the swans and willows of the Windrush Valley, Asthall was built circa 1620 on an H-shape plan (the Hall contains its original 17th century stone fireplace). The House was enlarged and altered in 1916, when an additional gabled bay was added to the north and the East Façade was significantly altered. The House was a convalescent home during the World War I; in 1919 it was purchased by Lord Redesdale, famous today as the father of the Mitford sisters, who lived here from 1919 until 1926. The Mitfords hosted frequent shooting and hunting parties at Asthall with many notable guests, including Walter Sickert, Clementine Churchill, and Frederick Lindemann. Nancy Mitford's childhood at Asthall was the inspiration for her books "Love in a Cold Climate" and "The Pursuit of Love."
Collections: Following the death of A.B. Hardcastle, the contents of Asthall were sold on October 23, 1997 at auction by Phillips.
Garden & Outbuildings: The House is surrounded by six acres of gardens with a convergence of traditional and contemporary designs, featuring sloping box parterres, wild flowers, scented borders, all designed in 1998 by Julian and Isabel Bannerman, gardeners to the Prince of Wales.
Country Life: XCVII, 1124, 1945.
Title: Counting My Chickens and Other Home Thoughts
Author: Devonshire, Deborah
Year Published: 2001
Reference: pg. 165
Publisher: Gloucestershire: Long Barn Books
ISBN: 1902421051
Book Type: Hardback
Title: Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, The
Author: Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus
Year Published: 1974
Publisher: London: Penguin Books
ISBN: 0140710450
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Grade II
Park Listed: Grade II
Current Seat / Home of: Rosanna Pearson and Anna Greenacre
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Lady Joan Cornwall, 14th century. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Sir William Jones, 17th century. Peacock family, 18th century. Bateman family, mid-18th century until 19th century. David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, Mitford family, 1919-26. Mr. A.B. Hardcastle, 20th century; Hardcastle family, 1926-97.
Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
House Open to Public: Limited Access to Grounds Only
Phone: 01993-824-319
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.asthallmanor.com/
Historic Houses Member: No