Absolute Touring

Guided day tour to Asthall and Swinbrook in the Windrush Valley

Asthall Manor

Asthall Manor

  • Asthall Manor - home to the Mitford sisters; the family later moved to Swinbrook
  • Nancy was a famous novelist (The Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate); Unity a great admirer of Hitler, and Diana – 'rated more perfect than Botticelli's Venus' - married Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists. Jessica was an ardent socialist; Pamela was happiest in the country with her dogs; and Deborah, married the Duke of Devonshire, helping to re-establish Chatsworth as one of the 'Treasure Houses of England'
  • Asthall's Maytime Inn owned for many years by May and Tim Morgan
  • In Swinbrook Church, dating from c1200, are the fine Fettiplace tombs, memorials to the family who lived here for over 300 years: the recumbent figures lean on one elbow so that they fit in the confined 'bunk-style' space!
  • Four Mitford sisters – Nancy, Unity and Diana, with Pamela a short distance away - are now buried in the graveyard
Swinbrook Church - Fettiplace Monuments

Swinbrook Church - Fettiplace Monuments

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Approx 30 minutes west of Oxford

" Very enjoyable day! Our guide was pleasant & very informative
David, Cleveland, Ohio, USA "