If you happened to find yourself surrounded by sweeping willows, green lakes, grassy banks, and rickety wooden bridges connecting them all nestled in leafy Oxfordshire, you might well think you’ve stumbled into the set of Rivals, or at least landed yourself in a rather fancy spa hotel that Londoners wax lyrical about. But, no — you actually might just be in the soon-to-be-former home of Tim Burton.
Like any good Brit without a chance of owning any form of property without a 99% mortgage, you’ve probably been scrolling through Savills website like most people scroll on TikTok. If you have, then you might have spotted a rather interesting property - and by interesting we mean eye-wateringly gorgeous.
Not only was it owned by THE Tim Burton - you know, American filmmaker behind cult classics like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and even The Muppet Movie - but it was also the former home of UK Prime Minister Henry Asquith. So, if you’ve ever wanted to have something in common with either of those, then scooping up the deeds of this house could be your in.
The house is a Georgian, Grade II listed property with 17 acres of gardens and grounds, including your own bit of the River Thames that runs through it, just a short distance from London. It has a casual eight bedrooms, four bathrooms, and four reception rooms, in case your kitchen / living room / reception room / hallway in your London flat just isn’t cutting it anymore.
It also has a summerhouse as well as ‘classic Georgian proportions’ in the main house, whatever that means. Likely translation: it’s effing massive. The house was built in 1741 and named Mill House. Its origin lies in a paper mill (hence the name) which was commissioned by the Bank of England to create hard-to-forge paper for bank notes. Mill House was built for the factory’s foreman and the paper continued production even after the Bank of England contract expired in 1724. Production continued well into the 19th century until it was taken over by Henry Asquith (otherwise known as 1st Earl of Oxford / the Prime Minister).
If it wasn't bougie enough to own this house, he and his wife owned The Wharf which was next door to Mill House, and actually bought Mill House as a guest house, you know, for visitors. Beats a futon in the living room we guess.
Yes, the inside of this house is gorgeous - spacious, old fashioned, beautifully decorated - and look closely in those pictures and there's loads of Burton paraphernalia filling its rooms, from his illustrations to 'Golden Age' Hollywood posters.
But it’s the outside that’s the real stunner. The front door is approached through a rose courtyard, the gardens are covered in a web of waterways all of which snake around the land and are connected by old (but structurally integral) wood and rope bridges. As you’d want from such a mystical property, there are paths and trails that lead into woodlands, there are horse chestnut trees, cooper beeches, yew and cheery trees, wisteria, and a whole bucketload of flora and fauna. Oh and there’s a rose parterre and croquet lawn. Obvs. It’s basically a dream house. Or a film set. Head to savills.com to work out which.
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