Nancy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Swinbrook and Asthall
Asthall Manor
The Jacobean manor at Asthall where the Mitfords lived from 1919 to 1926, with a garden by Isabel and Julian Bannerman open on set afternoons in February, May and June.
A private garden of real character, open only a few weeks a year, with the Mitford story in the house behind it. Book a slot in the open month and give it a couple of hours.
- Good: Garden by Isabel and Julian Bannerman, 1997 to 1998
- Good: Pop-up café in the open month
- Good: Reachable by the 234 bus, with a steep walk
- Worth knowing: Open a few weeks a year, and shut for the rest of 2026
- Worth knowing: No dogs, except assistance dogs
- Worth knowing: Slopes and steps, and no fully accessible toilet
About
Asthall Manor is the Jacobean house beside the church at Asthall, in Swinbrook and Asthall, above the Windrush about 4 miles (6km) east of Burford by road. Lord Redesdale bought it in 1919, and the Mitford children grew up here until 1926. Nancy Mitford drew on it in her novels, and our story on the Mitfords in the Cotswolds follows the family. It is a private home, and the house itself is closed to visitors.
The garden is what opens. It was designed and largely planted by Isabel and Julian Bannerman in 1997 and 1998 and has been left to evolve since, with meandering paths, hidden corners, woodland and meadows running down towards the river. From 2002 to 2022 it held on form, an exhibition of stone sculpture. The owner, Rosie Pearson, now opens it on set days rather than to a fixed pattern.
In 2026 it opened on Wednesdays in February for the snowdrops, and on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons from 20 May to 20 June, from 2pm to 6pm, with a pop-up café in the Potting Shed. An adult ticket was £10 in 2026, a child's £5, and under-threes and carers go free; a limited number of £7 supported tickets are kept for students, the low paid and anyone who could not otherwise come. Book a date on its website, where your name is taken on arrival. For the rest of 2026 it opens only for booked events, such as workshops in the walled garden, which include a look round the main garden. Groups of ten or more can book a private tour.
Allow one to two hours. In the open month Wednesday and Friday are the weekday afternoons, and Saturday the only weekend day. There are slopes and steps, and dogs are not allowed except assistance dogs. Outside the open month there is no café, but the Three Horseshoes is a two-minute walk away, and the walk from Swinbrook to Fulbrook follows the river nearby.
Opening hours and season
Gardens
| Monday | Closed |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | 14:00 to 18:00 |
| Thursday | Closed |
| Friday | 14:00 to 18:00 |
| Saturday | 14:00 to 18:00 |
| Sunday | Closed |
Open month only: 20 May to 20 June in 2026
Open on set days only: in 2026, Wednesdays in February for snowdrops and Wednesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons from 20 May to 20 June. Otherwise for booked events.
Facilities
- ToiletsOne most wheelchair users can use; not a full disabled toilet
- Field parkingIn the cowshed field, or the avenue when wet; disabled parking on the gravel by the house
- Pop-up caféThe Potting Shed, in the open month only
The details
- Time to allow
- One to two hours
- Features
- Garden or terrace · Guided tours · Events and meetings · Parking
- History
- Jacobean house of the early seventeenth century; garden made in 1997 to 1998
- Parking
- Park in the cowshed field, or in the tree-lined avenue when it is wet. Disabled visitors can park on the gravel in front of the house.
- Without a car
- Stagecoach 234, hourly between Burford and Witney, to the Farmer's Dog stop, then 15 minutes down a steep hill. Hanborough and Charlbury stations, then a taxi.
Photos
Asthall Manor from the churchyard Photo: Vieve Forward, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
St Nicholas, Asthall, beside the manor Photo: Michael Garlick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
Cherry blossom in the garden 
The formal garden
Location
Places to stay nearby
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The Three Horseshoes, Asthall
Inn · Burford
An eighteenth-century pub with six rooms at Asthall, near Burford, where innkeepers have been recorded since 1726.
Verified Oct 2026
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The Swan Inn, Swinbrook
Inn · Burford
An inn on the River Windrush at Swinbrook, near Burford, with bedrooms in its stables and a riverside cottage.
Verified Oct 2026
-
Minster Mill
Hotel · Witney
A spa hotel in 65 acres on the River Windrush at Minster Lovell, three miles west of Witney, with a pool, a restaurant and dogs in 32 rooms.
Dog-friendly · Wedding venues · Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The Three Horseshoes, Asthall
- The Swan Inn, Swinbrook 1.1 km away
- The Farmer's Dog 1.2 km away
- Crocodiles of the World 2.5 km away
Sights nearby
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St Mary's Church, Swinbrook
Sight · Church · Burford
St Mary's in Swinbrook, near Burford, is a medieval church by the Windrush with the stacked Fettiplace effigies in its chancel and, in the churchyard, the graves of four Mitford sisters, Nancy, Pamela, Diana and Unity; their parents lie there too. Open daily. Grade II*.
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St Oswald's Church, Widford
Sight · Church · Burford
St Oswald's is a small thirteenth-century church alone in a field above the Windrush at Widford, between Burford and Swinbrook: built on a Roman villa, the last trace of a lost village, with medieval wall paintings and box pews. Grade II*; reached on foot only.
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St Kenelm's Church, Minster Lovell
Sight · Church · The Oxfordshire Cotswolds
St Kenelm's is the church beside the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall on the Windrush: rebuilt in the mid fifteenth century, probably by William, Lord Lovell, with a vaulted crossing under its central tower and an alabaster tomb thought to be his. Grade I; open daily.
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St John the Baptist, Burford
Sight · Church · Burford
St John the Baptist is Burford's great wool church by the Windrush: Norman at its core, with a fan-vaulted porch, the Tanfield and Harman monuments, and the font where a Leveller carved his name before three were shot in 1649. Grade I; open daily, free.