Carswell Manor

The three-storey manor house dates back to the early 17th century. It is constructed mainly of Cotswold stone and surrounded by mature woodland. Within the extensive grounds there is a ha-ha. There is also a dovecote dating from 1619 which is purported to be the first square dovecote built in Berkshire. The house and dovecote are both Grade II listed on the National Heritage List for England.[1][2]

The house was probably built for John Southby who was High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1646/7 and MP for Berkshire in 1654/6. His family had lived on the site since 1584 and continued there until 1892.

The buildings were extensively restored and remodelled between 1893 and 1898 by William Edward Graham Niven (1878–1915), a lawyer and architect, and the father of the actor David Niven, to be his country seat. The Niven family's crest and motto are still set in stone above the front porch. The Niven family sold the property shortly after David's birth. The house was bought by Captain Francis Mourilyan Butler and his wife Josephine (née Lawrence), an American heiress. In October 1917 Captain Butler was killed near Ypres during the Great War. His only son (Francis Charles Joseph Butler), born in 1915, was brought up at Carswell Manor and became a noted aviator. In June 1940, whilst serving as a Pilot Officer in the RAFVR, the younger Francis went missing in action. This situation prompted the legal case "Butler's Settlement Trust, Lloyds Bank Ltd. v. Ford" (as to whether being reported missing was sufficient evidence of death) and ultimately led to the sale of the property. There are memorials to both father and son in nearby Buckland church.

Since 1945, Carswell Manor has been the home of St Hugh's School, an exclusive preparatory school which moved there from Malvern, where it had been evacuated during the war.

• St Hugh's School