Bell House Formerly Tichborne Down House Hospital

Bell House, formerly Tichborne Down House Hospital, is a hospital that was originally a Poor Law Institute, built around 1840. The building features brick walls and a slate roof, displaying a generally symmetrical design. It has a central octagonal block that rises three stories, with wings extending in four directions: two wings are three stories high, one is two stories, and one is a single story. The ends of these wings have low, narrow service structures that form a square enclosing four courtyards. The south end of the south wing has been widened to create an entrance facing the roadway.

The symmetrical front (south elevation) consists of three stories with three windows. It has a slate-hipped roof with brick dentil eaves, and the red brick walls are laid in Flemish bond with rubbed flat arches. There are plain stucco bands at the cill level of the first and second floors and a cement plinth. The second floor features casement windows, while the other floors have sash windows set in reveals with narrow side panes, totaling 20 panes.

The doorway is made of stucco and includes a moulded cornice, a plain frieze, pilasters, and a recessed frieze with three roundels above a three-panelled door. The other elevations also have hipped slate roofs, red brick walls in Flemish bond, rubbed flat arches, and a plinth, with later casements and ground-floor sashes. The exposed angles of the octagon feature large sash windows, and the links to the wings are rendered. The service buildings have slate roofs and brick walls with small sash windows, while the road frontage is rendered. Despite a few later changes or additions, the main block remains largely in its original form, with recent buildings on the enlarged site.