Falmer House Including Moat Within Courtyard

Falmer House, including the moat within the courtyard, is a Grade I listed central communal building for the University of Sussex, constructed between 1960 and 1962. Designed by Sir Basil Spence, it features red brick and bare, board-marked concrete with timber window frames and flat roofs that have rooftop projections covered in copper.

The building has a quadrangular form with a partly open ground floor and an irregular facade of three storeys, characterized by 'chunky' detailing. The brick walls are separated at floor height by deep, bare, board-marked concrete strips. The ground floor includes arcades, and many windows have segmental arches set within concrete lintels. The former refectory, now a hall, is located on the west side and is two storeys tall, dominated by a segmental barrel vault that rises above the horizontal parapet. Many sections of the building on the south and east sides remain unenclosed. On the north side, the main staircase is faced with flint and is highlighted by a V-shaped roof feature.

Inside, the building contains a double-height former refectory with a mezzanine and a fine mural by Ivon Hitchens. There is also a debating chamber with a complex, top-lit octagonal roof and a corresponding octagonal sunken seating area with a segmented timber cover, as well as a double-height common room featuring a 'chunky' timber staircase. Falmer House was the first building constructed on the campus and serves as its focal point. Sussex University holds historical significance as the first of the post-war generation of universities to be founded, planned, and built as a complete entity.