Bray Film Studios

A large house situated beside the River Thames, now used as offices for film studios. The building dates to the early 18th century and has undergone alterations in the late 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It is constructed of a mix of brick and painted render with incised horizontal joint lines on the south front, and has a slate roof. The plan is irregular, with parts of the building extending two storeys with a cellar, and others two storeys with attics. Chimneys have been removed or cut down. The windows are mostly sash windows with glazing bars. Battlemented parapets feature on parts of the roof.

The west wing is the earliest section, constructed of red brick with random blue headers in Flemish bond, and comprises five bays. It has moulded brick strings at the first and second floors, and a parapet. A slate mansard roof with three segmental-header dormers is also present. Flush sash windows are located on the first floor within segmental brick arches; four remain on the ground floor, with the central window replaced by a 20th-century flat-roofed square projection.

The north front has painted render and a battlemented parapet concealing a low-pitched roof. Seven bays are present. Windows in the fourth, fifth, and sixth bays on the ground floor are located within a projecting rounded bay with a single storey, surrounded by an early 19th-century semicircular portico featuring fluted Doric columns and a plain entablature. To the right of this front, a smaller wing projects at an angle, with two storeys and attics and three square-headed roof dormers. The battlementing is continuous except over the centre bay. Projecting rounded bays contain the windows on each side of the centre bay; the centre window on the first floor is blocked. Ground-floor windows are tall casements with glazing bars. A doorcase with attached fluted columns, foliated capitals, and a plain entablature is centered on the front. The main entrance is on the south front, which may have been re-faced in the 19th century. Original half-glazed entrance doors remain, with moulded and fielded bottom panels and original ironwork.

An adjoining structure to the south-east, possibly originally a chapel and now converted into two houses, is listed separately.

Inside the west wing is an early 18th-century staircase with turned balusters and a cut string with plaster enrichment to the soffit. Fluted Ionic columns serve as newel posts. In the late 18th century, the house was owned by Richard Tonson, a descendant of Jacob Tonson and a founder of the Kit Kat club. Portraits of club members by Kneller, previously housed at Barn Elms, were moved to this house and displayed in a specially constructed room. Upon Richard Tonson’s death, the portraits were transferred to Mr Baker of Bayfordbury, Hertfordshire, and are now held by the National Portrait Gallery. The property was formerly known as Down Place.