Leith Hill Place

Leith Hill Place is a country house, originally dating from around 1600, with a largely reconstructed appearance from around 1760 in a Palladian style. Some sources suggest rebuilding and extensions occurred in the early 18th century, potentially during the time of General Folliott. The original fabric was brick and Bargate stone, but the north front has been refaced with roughcast and render, while the south front retains stone cladding. The roof is slate, with a low pitch and three horizontally sliding dormers. The house follows an H-shaped plan, standing two storeys and attics.

The layout consists of three-storey pedimented wings at either end, featuring plat bands over the ground and first floors and a moulded eaves cornice to the central section. Ridge stacks are positioned to the left and right of centre, and at the rear. Each wing has one 12-pane, glazing-bar sash window on each floor, set within projecting architraves. In the central five-bay range, there are four similar windows on the first floor, two either side of the centre, and 12-pane, glazing-bar sash windows on the ground floor. A two-storey, flat-roofed porch is centrally placed, with angle piers on the ground floor, a plat band above, and a 12-pane, glazing-bar sash window on the first floor. The double doors below are elaborately designed with studding and oval lozenge-shape panels within an architrave, with the top two panels glazed. A service courtyard and associated buildings are located to the left. The right-hand return front reveals an old Bargate stone plinth.

The rear garden front has four dormers and five glazing-bar sash windows to the central range. Wings display one window on each floor, with the first-floor windows pedimented. The ground floor wings have tripartite windows under hood lintels. A pulvinated frieze appears on the wings. A central Serlian doorway, with an arched head under an open pediment, marks the ground floor.

Internally, a 16th-century fireplace and panelling remain. A sober 18th-century staircase and later 18th-century fireplaces are also present. In 1847, the house was acquired by Josiah Wedgwood III, and frequently hosted his brother-in-law and cousin, Charles Darwin. One of Wedgwood’s daughters was the mother of Vaughan Williams, the composer, who spent his childhood there. The house is situated on the slopes of Leith Hill and offers extensive views across Surrey.