For those of you who have watched David Attenborough’s new Secret Garden series, does anybody know any more info about the thousand-year-old Oxfordshire mill house in the first episode?
Posted by doraisexploring27@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 19 comments
I’d love to find out more about the history of the house but can’t find anything on Google about its location
tomawilding@reddit
After spending sometime on Google maps, looking for houses on a river with a lake in the background on one of the scenes. I found it! Waterstock Mill
doraisexploring27@reddit (OP)
Blimey that’s some serious sleuthing, well done! I was sneakily trying to see how much they bought it for (I love searching random properties I can’t afford on zoopla/rightmove) but there’s no info for it. Ah well, it’s an absolutely stunning place. Imagine living on what basically looks like a national trust site!
kluens@reddit
Apparently they’ve been in it 30 years, interested to see that value jump ha!
And what were their professions, always nosey 💁🏻♂️
xanthophore@reddit
Henry Manisty is a lawyer who went into management - he was Global Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Thomson Reuters for 15 years!
7vckMurderers@reddit
Portraits of judges on the wall, so suspect legal profession!
sally-supporter@reddit
Yes. My grandparents house back in the 50’s and 60’s. I remember loving it there.
luskanow@reddit
Here's the information on it from Historic England:
'Mill and millhouse. C16/C17. Timber framed with brick infill on a limestone rubble plinth; old plain-tile roof with brick ridge stacks. L-plan. One storey plus attics. Front facing the bridge has C20 door and casements and a 3-light gabled dormer to right of centre. The right corner is rebuilt in rubble with brick quoins incorporating a stack. Left gable end has complete framing with long braces and narrow panels. The half-hipped roof has a large stack to left of centre. Right gable wall continues as a 2-unit rear range with leaded casements of 2 and 3 lights and 3-light gabled dormers. Interior not inspected but noted as having a beam inscribed with the initials of Sir Henry Ashhurst and the date 1693. (V.C.H.: Oxfordshire, Vol.VII, p.221).'
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1047560?section=official-list-entry
And here's the wikipedia entry on Henry Ashhurst junior (whose father this entry credits with having 'built' the millhouse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Henry_Ashurst,_2nd_Baronet
And a third Henry Ashhurst 'rebuilds' it in 1787: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Ashurst_(judge)
Waytemore@reddit
As ever thus...!
Waytemore@reddit
Here is the list entry: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1047560?section=official-list-entry
A sixteenth or early seventeenth century building on a much older site. A lovely spot!
sally-supporter@reddit
I think it’s my grandparents’ old house which is Waterstock Mill. They offered it to my parents in the early 1960’s but my mother was worried about us children drowning (and the flooding).
luskanow@reddit
Henry Manistry appears to be the current owner
https://campaignerkate.wordpress.com/2021/12/16/waterstock-warehouses-no-way/
splphoto@reddit
Be careful about revealing the location. Knuckle dragging anglers are no friend of otters.
Itchy-Researcher-116@reddit
Imagine living in those majestic surroundings with all that Flora and Fauna, then turning on the television and seeing what all of your wildlife friends and neighbors, are getting up to - then walking outside with that newfound knowledge - it's phenomenal 🐬
Itchy-Researcher-116@reddit
It's INCREDIBLE right ? What a dream house, what a dream!!
Did guys notice the microscene at precisely 14 minutes in where in one framed shot they captured the kingfisher, the swan and the male mallard (being chased by the otter, presumably)? What a perfect shot AMAZING actually, I mean WOW
Gift_Of_The_Gab_33@reddit
I don't know any more information about it, but the narration said a mill house has stood on that site for 1000 years - I don't think that specific structure is actually 1000 years old, more likely a few centuries.
doraisexploring27@reddit (OP)
I thought as much, figured by the appearance of it that it’s the site that’s 1000 years old, not the building itself! If I had to guess I’d say the house is possibly 17th century, but I’m no expert
occationalRedditor@reddit
The description they use suggests the owners don't want you to know. "a wild, unruly garden straddling a tributary of the River Thames in Oxfordshire." "Owners Henry and Sara"
eggelette@reddit
Could it be this one (pasted link below)? I've not found more info on it. I'd love to know the history too!!
https://www.locationoxfordshire.co.uk/location/the-mill-house/
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