The smallest 'town' in Kent achieved prosperity in
the 14th to 16th centuries through the cloth trade.
Often called the 'capital of the Weald' it retains great
charm and is dominated by a fine smock windmill built in
1814 for Henry Dobell.
There has been a house on this site at least since
the 15th century when a dwelling was sold by a Stephen
Swift. This presumably accounts for the many earlier
names of the house and the estate incorporating the name
'Swift' or 'Swifts'. From 1770 to 1820 the house was
owned by the Austen family, relatives of Jane Austen.
The present house was built in 1937 by Major Victor
Cazalet, MP for Chippenham. He died in an air crash in
1943 after which the house was first let and then sold
to the exiled Queen Maria of Yugoslavia and her sons.
The house was renamed 'Oak Hill Manor' in around 1995
and may recently have reverted to the former name of
'Great Swifts'.
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