An idyllic riverside home with a wine cellar to rival Champagne, outdoor bar and balconies overlooking the countryside

(Image credit: Richard Dean/ Hamptons)

published 25 November 2021

We feel fairly confident in making the claim that this is a house built at the birthplace of Windsor Castle: Quarry Bank was constructed in 1896 on the site of Bisham Quarry, an important medieval source of stone, much of which was used to build the Royal Family’s Berkshire home. Not that it looks like there was ever a quarry here: just a glorious riverside property, currently on the market for £4 million via Hamptons.

Quarry Bank was split into two residences in 1951, but was modernised and returned to a single dwelling about 20 years ago.

It sits on the banks of the Thames at ancient Quarry Wood, about a mile from the pretty market town of Marlow, and has balconies and six bedrooms.

Its 1 1/2 acres include a separate annexe with underfloor heating and a wine cellar built into the chalk hill that maintains similar temperature and conditions to the Champagne region.

There's also an outdoor bar and covered-dining area and a 100ft mooring.

Quarry Bank is currently on the market via Hamptons for £4 million — see more pictures, or enquire with the agent for further details.

Marlow: What you need to know

Location: In the Chiltern Hills AONB, just under 5 miles from High Wycombe and approximately 5.7 miles from Maidenhead. Marlow station provides rail links into London Paddington. There are further rail services at High Wycombe and Maidenhead. Heathrow is approximately 25 mile away.

Atmosphere: The sought after town has a bustling and friendly atmosphere, and is known as one of the loveliest locations along the River Thames. The town attracts a great number of visitors thanks to its beautiful settings and is famously known as the place where Mary Shelley finished her gothic novel Frankenstein.

Things to do: The Georgian market town is home to a number of boutique shops, restaurants and cafes. The annual summer regatta is held in June with family races and activities. There are lots of walks to enjoy, including the Thames Path, plus the Pub in the Park festival which is held every September. There are golf courses located at Temple, Harleyford and Henley.

Schools: Schooling in the area is fantastic, including Sir William Borlase in Marlow, Eton College and Wycombe College.

See more property for sale in the area.

Credit: Strutt and Parker

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Annunciata grew up in the wilds of Lancashire and now lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and an awful pug called Parsley. She’s been floating round the Country Life office for more than a decade, her work winning the Property Magazine of the Year Award in 2022 (Property Press Awards). Before that, she had a two-year stint writing ‘all kinds of fiction’ for The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, worked in internal comms for Country Life’s publisher (which has had many names in recent years but was then called IPC Media), and spent another year researching for a historical biographer, whose then primary focus was Graham Greene and John Henry Newman and whose filing system was a collection of wardrobes and chests of drawers filled with torn scraps of paper. During this time, she regularly gave tours of 17th-century Milton Manor, Oxfordshire, which may or may not have been designed by Inigo Jones, and co-founded a literary, art and music festival, at which Johnny Flynn headlined. When not writing and editing for Country Life, Annunciata is also a director of TIN MAN ART, a contemporary art gallery founded in 2021 by her husband, James Elwes.

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Marlow: What you need to know

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