Whichford House is a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

house in the village of

Whichford Whichford is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England, about southeast of Shipston-on-Stour. The parish adjoins the county boundary with Oxfordshire and the village is about north of the Oxfordshire town of Chipping Norton. The pa ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, England. Whichford House was built in the 17th century as St Michael's Rectory, and in the 18th century it was enhanced with an open stairwell, a stone chimneypiece, and wood panelling in the principal rooms. In the 1950s, it ceased to be used as the Rectory, and the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

sold it to the publisher

George Rainbird George Meadus Rainbird (22 May 1905 – 20 August 1986) was a British publisher, and the founder of the eponymous publishing house George Rainbird Ltd. Early life He was born on 22 May 1905,https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZ9-QLDM ...

, for £1,400. In the 1980s, it was sold to Major and

High Sheriff of Warwickshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Warwickshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

(1996)

John Waddington Oakes John Waddington Oakes (23 September 1932 – 23 May 2021) was a British military officer and public official who served as High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1996. In the 1980s he bought Whichford House, a grade II* listed house in the village of ...

and his wife, who lived there with their family, including sons

Nigel Oakes Nigel John Oakes (born July 1962) is a British businessman, and the founder and CEO of Behavioural Dynamics Institute and SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories), the parent company of Cambridge Analytica and her sister Aggregat ...

and

Alexander Waddington Oakes Alexander Waddington Oakes (born November 1968) is a British businessman, and the co-founder and an executive of Behavioural Dynamics Institute and SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories), the parent company of Cambridge Analyt ...

, and added a tennis court, swimming pool and a coach house at the entrance gate. The property includes five acres of gardens. Since 2004, it has been owned by interior designer Simon Herrtage and his wife Bridget Barker.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 52.0094, -1.5461, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 17th-century architecture in England Grade II* listed houses Grade II* listed buildings in Warwickshire Clergy houses