A charmingly unspoilt 17th century farmhouse for sale in the Cotswolds' 'Golden Triangle'
Finstock Manor was once part of the Cornbury Park Estate and is now an elegant family home.


Located within the Cotswold ‘golden triangle’ between Burford, Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold, dreamy Grade II*-listed Finstock Manor stands on high ground on the edge of the village it’s named for.
Finstock is bounded to the north-east by the River Evenlode on the southern edge of the ancient parish of Charlbury and overlooks the Cornbury Park estate of which it was, until recently, a part.
Nowadays, this much sought-after area of Oxfordshire boasts an even more exclusive ‘golden triangle’ — between Estelle Manor, at North Leigh near Witney, Soho Farmhouse at Great Tew, near Chipping Norton, and Daylesford Organic Farm Shop, near Moreton-in-Marsh — located respectively 4½ miles, 10½ miles and 12½ miles from Finstock Manor.
From at least 1135, the village of Finstock — the name means ‘a place of woodpeckers’ — was part of the manor of Charlbury, a vast episcopal estate held by the Bishop of Lincoln at the time of the Domesday survey. Charlbury was later owned by St John’s College, Oxford, from the late 16th century until 1857, when the lordship of the manor passed to Francis Spencer, 2nd Lord Churchill of Wychwood, the owner of Cornbury Park.
Acquired from Cornbury by the current owners in 2005, Finstock Manor is now for sale through the Oxford office of Strutt & Parker Selling agent Giles Lawton quotes a guide price of £4.25 million for the charmingly unspoilt, 17th-century manor house and its picturesque outbuildings set in almost five acres of west-facing formal gardens and grounds, which include a series of garden rooms, a paddock and a large outdoor heated swimming pool.
In the early 1900s, the manor was home to William Force Stead, who came to England as an American consul, but discovered literature and religion at Oxford University, where he was ordained and appointed chaplain of Worcester College, and, in June 1927, baptised fellow American T. S. Eliot in Finstock’s Gothic Revival parish church.
Previously listed as Manor Farm House, Finstock Manor dates from 1660 and is built on an L-plan of squared and coursed limestone under a stone slate roof. The main elevations have three gables surmounted by globe finials and unusual windows, two oval and one an oeil-de-boeuf.
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
The manor is described in Pevsner’s Buildings of England as being ‘essentially Elizabethan’, but with rusticated quoins and oval attic windows that presage the coming of the Classical era. It offers more than 7,000sq ft of comfortable accommodation on three floors, including a reception hall, original 17th-century staircase, four fine reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room, various utilities, a principal bedroom suite, seven further bedrooms, six bathrooms, a large attic room and a study/playroom.
Outbuildings include a large barn/garage, a listed former thatched cart-shed in need of repair, summerhouse, two stables, tack and feed room, a Grade II-listed pool house and a granary with recently lapsed consent for conversion into a cottage.
-
Sell your valuables with ease with The Antique Buying Collective
The Antique Buying Collective treats gold and silver as heirlooms, not scrap. From Victorian brooches to Georgian silverware, each piece is appraised for its history, craftsmanship .and charm, then thoughtfully rehomed through a trusted network. It’s a respectful approach, giving fine antiques the second life they so richly deserve
By Country Life Published
-
How many bees, Channel 4 and a Catch 22: Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 6, 2025
Tuesday's Quiz of the Day features a famous road, nature and science.
By James Fisher Published
-
Tasburgh Hall: From a Buddhist centre to a seven-bedroom family home in 23 acres
The property, in Norfolk, was once four separate apartments, but has been lovingly re-stitched back together.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
Old homes in new lights: A look at contemporary property photography
Attention is at a premium. Having the right image that will draw the maximum number of buyers has never been more important.
By Arabella Youens Published
-
Five outstanding properties, from 3,000 acres in Wales to Robert Plant's old home, as seen in Country Life
We take a look at some of the best houses to come to the market via Country Life in the past week.
By James Fisher Published
-
A villa from paradise on Koh Samui where the pool might be bigger than the house
Situated on the Samujana Estate, a filming location for the White Lotus, Villa 24 has got it all
By James Fisher Published
-
A six bedroom Grade II-listed hall set in eight acres of serene grounds in Norfolk
Brandiston Hall can trace its origins to the 17th century, but has been sensitively refurbished by its current owners.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
Flower power: Garden features that could add the most value to your home
A nice garden is good for the mind, the soul and, apparently, your wallet.
By Annabel Dixon Published
-
Uniquely unique? The Yorkshire grain silos transformed into a home that's a symphony in glass, steel and curves
Amid the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire, on the edge of the Castle Howard Estate, The Silos is a property for which the word 'house' simply doesn't cut it. And that's not the only way in which it's made us throw out the dictionary.
By Toby Keel Published
-
Graham Norton's elegant East London home hits the market, and it's just as wonderful as you would expect
The four-bedroom home in Wapping should be studied for how well it uses two separate spaces to create a home of immense character and utility.
By James Fisher Published