About

Swinbrook is a small village on the River Windrush, about 2 miles east of Burford. Apparently untouched by time, it is the quintessential English village with its stone walls, pretty church, cricket pitch with wooden pavilion, and an old stone pub next to the old stone bridge across the River Windrush.

St Mary's Church has some fascinating memorials to the Fettiplace family, who owned the manor during the 17C, with six effigies in two triple tiers ‘like passengers on an old-fashioned steamer’. In the 20th century Swinbrook became closely associated with the "Mitford sisters"— the six daughters of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, who lived at nearby Asthall Manor.

The sisters became celebrated, and at times scandalous, figures who were caricatured by The Times journalist, Ben Macintyre, as "Diana the Fascist, Jessica the Communist, Unity the Hitler-lover; Nancy the Novelist; Deborah the Duchess and Pamela the unobtrusive poultry connoisseur". The graves of four of the sisters can be found in the churchyard: near the porch are headstones to Nancy, Unity and Diana Mitford; their parents, and a fourth sister Pamela, are buried elsewhere in the churchyard. There is a plaque to their brother, Tom, inside the church.