Southwark Diocesan House

Southwark Diocesan House, originally The College of Grey Ladies, is a large house dating from the late 18th century. It is three storeys high with a basement and features five windows, plus narrow, blank window openings that flank the central bay. The building is constructed of multicoloured stock brick with a parapet front. It has replaced recessed sash windows with glazing bars, topped with gauged flat brick arches and stone sills. On the ground floor, there are three-window canted bays with parapets on the left and right sides. Two curved staircases, projecting over the basement and supported by round posts, lead to a terrace in front of the central doorway. The doorway is topped with a decorative cornice and a radial fanlight. A stuccoed surrounding wall, with an impost band, rises to a cornice resting on the keystone of the door arch. Round basement windows are also present, including one in the terrace wall, between the steps. The South return features a full-height canted bay with an entablature and a blocking course. A three-storey, one-window North extension, set back, runs behind the main house.