Burr. Since 1836, Burr had owned the Alvington manor in Gloucestershire (having inherited it upon his mother's death). Her family, the Higford family, owned Alvington from the 17th century. Burr was somewhat eccentric, keeping monkeys and snakes as pets. He commissioned Philip Charles Hardwick to build today's edifice in a Neoclassical style; the present mansion house was built using as much of the old material as possible that had been saved from the fire. Burr died on 29 November 1885 at the age of 74, and the estate passed to his son, Higford Higford (who, rather than taking his father's surname, assumed the name of a distant ancestor). Higford only lived at Aldermaston for a few years before putting it up for sale. He sold Alvington in 1912. Charles Keyser purchase (1893–1938) In 1893, the estate was bought for £160,000 () by Charles Edward Keyser, a stockbroker and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Keyser, who was born on 10 September 1847 and came from Hertfordshire had previously established a successful career in the City of London, having gained a Master's Degree in Law at Cambridge University. His accumulated wealth allowed him to specialise in his chosen area, and he became a distinguished figure in English church architecture, specialising in medieval churches. Keyser's attention was drawn to Aldermaston by his sister Agnes, who said that the court reminded her of her stay at Sandringham House. Keyser seized the opportunity to buy the estate when it was put up for sale at the Hind's Head. Keyser died in 1929, at the age of 81. His death certificate lists the place of death as Bucklebury. Keyser's estate was valued at £770,000, resulting in an Inheritance Tax of £150,000. The lessened agricultural income from the estate was then less than the cost of its maintenance in 1929. Keyser's wife, Mary died in 1938. Their son, Charles Norman, had no interest in running the estate and his heavy asthma led him to move to Adderbury, Oxfordshire. Muriel and Sybil, their daughters, had expensive taste with racehorses and ponies, and their brother sold the whole estate to a syndicate, Messrs Cribble, Booth and Shepherd, for £100,000 who auctioned it in lots at Reading Town Hall, beginning on 20 September 1939. Many of the lots were bought by their occupants. The house and its immediate grounds were bought by Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) for £16,000. Airfield