Hms Dryad (Southwick House)

HMS Dryad, also known as Southwick House, is a country mansion built in 1843 to replace a house that was constructed in 1800 but was destroyed by fire in 1840. Designed by S Howell, the building features stucco walls and a roof that is concealed by a parapet. The symmetrical south front elevation has slight projections on either side and a central bow, standing three storeys tall with a window arrangement of 2.1.3.1.2. The ground floor is rusticated and includes rusticated quoins and architraves around the windows, which have segmental and triangular pediments on the first floor, along with an eaves cornice supported by console brackets. The windows are sashes set in reveals. A continuous verandah on the ground floor is supported by Ionic columns.

The east elevation mirrors this symmetry, also three storeys high with a window arrangement of 1.3.1, and features a porte-cochere with four Ionic columns. On the west side, there is a two-storeyed service wing with a window arrangement of 1.5.1. This site served as the headquarters of General Eisenhower and was the location for planning the D-day invasion from 1943 to 1944. It is noted that a large map, specifically commissioned for this purpose, remains in place, covering a wall in one of the ground floor rooms.