Are Carrie and Boris Johnson the mystery buyers of 400-year-old moated manor in Oxfordshire?

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is thought to be the mystery new buyer of a £4 million moated manor house in South Oxfordshire.

Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie are rumoured to have agreed to pay £3.8 million for a 400-year-old property near Wallingford.

When the property was first listed for sale, offers ‘in excess of £4 million’ were asked for by the selling agent.

The nine-bedroom house is Grade II-listed and dates back to the early 1600s. With almost five acres of land, there’s plenty of space — even factoring in the wide moat that borders three sides of the property.

Behind its striking red-brick, Georgian façade (added in the 1700s), the home has high ceilings, wood panelling, open fireplaces and stone floors. The oldest part of the property is at the heart of the house where there is currently a living room, an oak-panelled bedroom suite and a family room.

A rear extension; an annexe with a music room; and a guest cottage in a former stable block were added in the 1950s.

Outside, there is a walled garden, tennis court, a pond and a double garage. A moated ‘siege castle’ is thought to have been built on the site in the 1150s by King Stephen.

The Johnsons were spotted looking at Oxfordshire schools for their children Wilfred and Romy earlier this year, prompting speculation that the former Prime Minister was planning to run for his old seat of Henley at the next election. Mr Johnson was re-selected as the Conservative candidate in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency earlier this month.

Mr Johnson’s PR team has been approached for comment.

The almost address

Dulwich and Herne Hill, both in south-east London, were tipped as front runners when the Johnsons left Downing Street in September last year.

In the same month, the couple listed their Camberwell townhouse for sale for £1.6 million — £400,000 more than they had paid for it in July 2019 — and are believed to have bought a five-bedroom house on a sought-after street in Herne Hill.

Herne Hill has popular schools and is a half-hour commute to Westminster.

The other Oxfordshire home

Mr Johnson still owns a house in Thame — a chocolate-box cottage with four bedrooms and views across open Oxfordshire countryside — which is only a 25-minute drive from his rumoured new manor.

The former Prime Minister bought the North Weston farmhouse in Thame 2003 with his then-wife Marina Wheeler for £640,000. It’s now thought to be worth upwards of £1.25 million.

Mr Johnson is thought to have remortgaged and rented out the Thame house, along with a since-sold townhouse in Camberwell, to pay for renovations to his former flat at 11 Downing Street.

The Thame farmhouse was listed for rent for £4,250 a month last year. A let of at least 12 months’ duration was agreed in May.