Mill House and The Wharf

at The Wharf commemorating Asquith's residence]] Margot Asquith bought the Wharf from her friend Maud Tree in 1911. Financial support was provided by Margot's admirer, the banker J. P. Morgan. In 1917, she acquired the Mill House to provide additional guest accommodation. On this occasion, financial support was obtained from Lady Boot, wife of the "Chemist to the Nation", Jesse Boot. Her architect throughout was Walter Cave. At the time the Asquiths lived there, and until a county reorganisation in 1974, Sutton Courtenay was located in Berkshire and is referred to as being in Berkshire in the many diaries and collections of letters which mention the house. The most recent Pevsner, although…

Asquith's grandson, Mark Bonham Carter, described the house in his Introduction to Margot Asquith's autobiography, republished in 1962. "It was an unattractive house and did not escape the vulgarity which hangs around the Thames Valley." Pevsner describes Cave's overall style as "neo-William-and-Mary". The Wharf is a two-storey house built with English bond red bricks. The Mill House is also in brick and dates from the 18th century with earlier elements, and later additions undertaken by Cave. Walton House, again in red brick, although this time in Flemish bond, is early 19th century, again with Cave-designed embellishments. The barn in the grounds of the Wharf, overlooking the River…