Bronnen Pugh was hailed as one of the most beautiful women in the world in the 1950s and married Viscount Astor in 1960 – only to have her life turned upside down when her husband was involved in the Profumo scandal. After his death, she left Cliveden to start a new life at Tewsley Manor, near Godalming, in a house that is now looking for a new owner.
Godalming has a special place in the history of English country houses and gardens: it was here that the collaboration between the architect Edwin Lutyens and the gardener and designer Gertrude Jekyll, whose fates were also connected with rural life.
This ancient city, six miles south of Guildford, in the south-west of Surrey, lies in a great valley of green meadows, through which the River Wey meanders, and around which rise wooded hills, on the spurs of which the outskirts of the city are scattered. . This beautiful landscape hides many delightful homes and one of them is currently up for sale with an estimated price of £4.95 million: Tuesley Manor.
At some point in the 11th century, Godalming Manor was split in two. The main part was the Royal Manor, which was held by the Bishops of Salisbury from 1221 until the dissolution and was sold by Elizabeth I in the early 1500s to George More of Losley Park, whose direct descendants still own the manor.
The second part, including the village of Tewsley, was known as the rectory, which was donated to Salisbury Cathedral by Henry I in the early 12th century and remained with the Dean and Chapter until the mid-19th century. The estate, rented by the Cotillon family for most of this time, was turned over in 1846 to church commissioners who began breaking up and selling the estate in the early 1860s.
Currently listed for sale through Knight Frank’s Guildford office, Tewsley Manor dates from the 15th century and, according to Historic England, was rebuilt and expanded in the 16th, late 17th and 19th centuries.
Discreetly located just off Toosley Lane, 1.5 miles south of Godalming and six miles from Guildford, the home has been extended and modernized by the current owners, who bought it in 2002.
The estate stands in a surprisingly secluded place, protected from the north by a large forest shore and from the south by a high stone wall that separates it from the country road.
To the north of the house, sloping lawns run down to a stream that crosses the garden from east to west and then rises to meet the ancient forest.
The 12 acres of land include an abandoned tennis lawn and, to the west, an indoor pool housed in a traditional barn with retractable side walls.
It was at Tewsley Manor that the late Bronwen, Lady Astor, moved from Cliveden after the death in 1966 of her husband, William Waldorf, 3rd Viscount Astor, following the Profumo Affair that rocked Britain in the 1960s and brought down the Macmillan government.
Lady Astor was one of the supermodels of the early 1960s, but after arriving in Tewsley, her life took a different turn. She reinvented herself as a psychotherapist and spiritual advisor, she converted to Catholicism in 1970, and for a time ran a small retreat center on the grounds of her Surrey home.
Happy Times: Viscount Astor (1907–1966) pictured on 14 October 1960 at Hampstead Registry Office, where he had just married model Bronwen Pugh. (Photo by J. Wilds/Keystone/Getty Images)
Today, Tuesley Manor is a family run country home of character and charm, retaining many of its original features. Built with local stone and Bargate brick under a tiled roof, the extensively renovated main house is an interesting mix of old and new.
It offers over 6,800 square feet of living space on three floors including a large kitchen/breakfast room/family room leading into a spacious dining area overlooking the courtyard garden.
The spacious living room, located next to the open hall with open-air fireplace and original oak beams (the oldest part of the house), overlooks the main gardens, with an office, gym and mezzanine storage, completing the ground floor line. -up.
On the first floor is the master bedroom, which has access to the roof terrace facing east, and on the second floor there are three more bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Further accommodation is available at the two-bedroom Garden Cottage and the one-bedroom The Retreat, which boasts an open plan kitchen/living room and games room currently used as an art gallery that opens onto the gardens.
Tewsley Manor is up for sale for £4.95 million – see details and photos.
This Warwickshire home is up for sale for £1.1 million. Credit: Knight Frank
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