Inside WWII star Googie Withers' former Denham home

Out of the select few who made it their home, probably best known to the world at large were the English actress Googie Withers and her Australian husband John McCallum.

The stars of stage and screen were at the height of their fame in the 1940s and 50s.

The leading lady in films that had audiences queueing round the block for a seat in the one-and-nines was always known as Googie, the name her Indian nanny called her, not Georgette, her parents’ choice for their daughter when she was born in Karachi in 1917.

Googie’s father was a captain in the Royal Navy. After he retired from service life and postings to far flung places the family moved back to England and the aspiring actress - by then at theatre school - got her first job in the chorus line of a West End show.

Her star was in the ascendancy. There was no going back.

After marriage to John they had two daughters and a son and spread their time between two houses– one in Sydney where they spent quite a bit of time and one in England.

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Their country home in Mirrie Lane, Denham, is still in the perfect spot for families who value their privacy.

The house has a number of reception rooms and a huge dining room

It was originally built in 1913 as a wedding present. Viscount Dunedin, a distinguished judge and Scottish parliamentarian, had commissioned a builder to create an idyllic country home in the Buckinghamshire countryside to celebrate the marriage of his daughter and new son-in-law.

Today The Mirrie is one of just two houses in a private no-through road surrounded by fields. It’s not far from the Denham film studios and only a couple of miles from the railway station.

The journey into Marylebone from Denham takes 24 minutes unless there are leaves on the line.

One of the bedrooms in the sprawling mansion

The house has its own two-acre garden and a further six acres of paddocks – eight acres in all including an apple orchard, lavender parterre and a cutting bed.

A greenhouse and a potting shed are among the outbuildings. There’s also a four room self contained annexe – hall, sitting/dining room with bay window, kitchen, bedroom and en suite bathroom.

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There are two entrances to the annexe: one from the main house so you don’t get wet if it’s raining and one from the drive leading to the garage block.

All the principal rooms in the main house face south. They all radiate from the wood panelled hall.

Main features on the ground floor are the original oak parquet floor, open fireplaces, antique fire backs, marble slips, traditional ceiling mouldings and the oak staircase.

The exterior has a swimming pool and acres of land to make the most of

The drawing room, like the sitting room and study, has French doors onto the terrace; the dining room with a door onto the east garden is next to the kitchen/breakfast room which flows into the conservatory.

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Upstairs are five bedrooms and three bathrooms. The hotel standard master suite has a large en suite bathroom and a separate dressing room (large enough to commandeer into a sixth bedroom should needs be).

The garden includes a Gothic folly with a thatched roof and a magnificent cedar tree. There’s also a swimming pool sheltered by rhododendrons.

The Mirrie is for sale through Savills with a guide price of £3 million.

Look at it this way: If holidays abroad are off the agenda for the foreseeable and this house is within your budget, stock the freezer with gourmet meals and Cornettos, set up the sun loungers on the south terrace (no need to leave your towel to show it’s reserved) and leave a message on your phone to say you’ll return calls when you get back.

Lockdown or no lockdown, wallow in your home comforts in Denham.