Carved in stone above the garden gate is the date 1697 with the initials 'B.B", Brereton Bouchier, squire of Barnsley, who built the original house of locally quarried Cotswold stone. This grade II-listed manor-house is set within grounds landscaped by a more recent former owner, the Grand Dame of English gardening writers and designers, the celebrated Rosemary Verey who influenced everyone from the current Prince of Wales to aspiring suburban rose-pruners Inside the new owners have managed to combine traditional features and muted paint colours with urban cool furnishings such as the sleek chrome barstools and red leather swivel chairs. The Luxury Travel Bible especially likes the his 'n' her designer tubs in the bathroom of Room One complete with a flat screen TV rising up to eye level on a sleek tap-like chrome stand.