Birch Grove

Maurice Macmillan and his wife Helen (known as Nellie) bought the estate, a large house and just over 100 acres of land, in May 1906 for £13,000. The house was almost completely rebuilt in 1926 at Nellie's insistence. At the same time, Nellie persuaded Maurice to disinherit Harold's two elder brothers and leave the house and estate to Harold, with a life interest for her. Nellie's devotion to, and support for, Harold was an important factor in his subsequent career; Nellie once admonished Harold's children when they were running through Birch Grove; "Don't kick that door. This house is going to belong to the Prime Minister of England one of these days". Macmillan's diary entry for 7 August…

Birch Grove stands on the edge of the Ashdown Forest near Chelwood Gate in East Sussex, although the house itself is in West Sussex. It is a Grade II listed building, although the Historic England listing record makes clear that this is for its historical associations rather than any intrinsic architectural merit. Pevsner Architectural Guides is no more admiring of the house, describing it as " an unhappy union between Queen Anne and a mansard [roof] that weighs the house down". Macmillan's official biographer, Alistair Horne, notes that Nellie's rebuilding of Birch Grove was "one of only two or three such major works of residential construction undertaken during the depression". The house…