Church House

Church House is a vicarage dating to 1791, with substantial alterations made in 1870. The architect is unknown. It is constructed of red brick with a tiled roof, featuring Bath stone dressings and diapered brickwork to the Gothic Revival additions.

The earlier south-eastern part of the building presents a four-bay facade to Church Hill, with an arcaded ground floor. This level has arched windows, originally containing 2/2-pane sashes of a later date, set within blind arches, with rubbed red brick voussoirs rising from brick imposts. The first-floor windows have gauged brick arches, a cornice with projecting headers, and a parapet above. The southern return includes a single-storey ground floor porch and two prominent projecting Gothic Revival brick chimneystacks, decorated with engaged stone colonnettes with ring moulding. A continuation of the building extends northwards, overlooking an entrance courtyard. A projecting porch on the north side features stone cills, lintels and transoms to narrow windows, an original four-panel door with raised panels, an overlight, and windows with ornamental glass.

The 1870 addition to the right has a pair of blind arches to the ground floor and a pair of two-light mullioned windows to the first floor. It includes twin gabled projections with two- or three-light mullioned windows at the first floor, and an arched opening at ground floor with a moulded stone soffit. A further pair of mullioned windows are above. A vernacular Gothic Revival west side exhibits brick relieving arches to ground floor windows, a canted bay window with ornamental stone panels over mullioned and French windows, a moulded string course at first floor level, paired stone mullioned windows to the first floor, barge boarded gable ends, and prominent chimneystacks.

The interior retains features from both phases, including Georgian fireplaces in several rooms and an open-well staircase with turned columnar newel posts and balusters from the 1870s. A former stable to the north has been adapted for office use; fittings have been transferred to the Headstone Manor Museum.

Church House was built in 1791 for the Reverend Walter Williams, Vicar of Harrow. According to some accounts, the Reverend Charles Dodson may have written part of 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' at this location.