Brizes Park, Bell House School

This is a substantial house, said to have begun in 1720 and extensively remodelled in the late 18th century, the 19th century, and the 20th century. It was converted into a school in 1981. The house is constructed of red brick with a slate roof and is arranged in a roughly L-shaped plan, with projecting service and stable wings to the rear.

The west front has three storeys and nine bays, with two simple stucco string courses marking the ground and first floors, and a plain parapet above. All windows, real or blind, have gauged brick surrounds. The central three bays project forward, featuring a pediment incorporating a lunette arch above the parapet. A central porch with Tuscan columns and a flat head gives access to a semicircular doorway, above which is a ‘cobweb’ fanlight, and a six-panelled door. There are four windows on either side of the porch; these are 20th-century replacements, sash windows with 3x4 panes. The first floor mirrors the ground floor with a central niche containing a stucco keystone and four windows on either side. The second storey features a blind central window and four windows on either side, each being a sash window with 3x2 panes.

The south-east elevation exhibits a three-way division. The central part projects forward, incorporating a full-height arched recess containing large tripartite sash windows on each floor. The ground-floor window has a flat head with 1x4, 3x4, and 1x4 panes; the first floor has a segmental head with the same glazing arrangement; and the second floor has a lunette ‘Diocletian’ window with 1x2, 3x4, and 1x2 panes. Towards the southwest end, there are two blind bays. The north-east end has windows with 3x4 panes on the ground and first floors, and 3x2 panes on the second floor. The north-west elevation has six bays, again displaying a three-way division and a projecting central section. The windows are sash windows with glazing bars; the ground and first floors have 3x4 panes, and the second floor has 3x2 panes. The windows on the southwest end of the first and second floors are blind. The recessed service and stable wings present blind arcades with stucco keystones and impost blocks to the southwest front, and have hipped roofs. The south wing is clad in flat tiles, while the north wing is slate-covered.

The interior includes an entrance hall with a bucrania frieze and a Venetian triple arch with coupled columns leading to an imperial-style staircase. The staircase is lit by a window with a semicircular head, painted glass, and hunting figures dressed in 17th-century costume, reputedly imported around 1880. Several rooms contain late 18th-century style fireplaces and friezes. Purchased in 1949 by Hon. Simon Rodney, the house was subsequently restored to its Georgian appearance. It was a frequent destination for Sir Winston Churchill. The stable block and garden wall are related buildings.