The Dome

The Dome originally comprised a crescent of three houses built around 1787 by Sir Richard Hotham, initially known as Hothampton Crescent. The central house, named The Dome, was designed with the hope of attracting George III away from Weymouth. Princess Charlotte resided here in 1808. All three houses are now collectively known as The Dome and are occupied by Bognor Training College.

The building is three storeys high with a basement, featuring thirteen windows in total. It is constructed of red brick with grey brick window dressings. Decorative yellow brick detailing is present in headers, quoins, a string course above each floor, and relieving arches. A red brick modillion eaves cornice runs along the end houses, extending over the centre house with a parapet and a pediment above the three central window bays. Each end of the crescent incorporates a three-window bay with a hipped slate roof and intact glazing bars. Ground floor windows of the central house are round-headed, set within red brick arcading with yellow brick keystones. A three-light window with a segmental head is positioned on the first floor, set within a yellow brick arch with a grey header keystone. Above this is a three-light lunette window on the second floor. An oval stone panel displaying the name Hothampton Crescent and a cartouche is located in the tympanum of the pediment.

The central doorway is accessed by a double-curved flight of seven steps with handrail and railing edging a platform. A basement entrance is situated directly beneath the steps. The doorway itself is adorned with stuccoed pilasters, a console-supported pediment, a swaged frieze, and a rectangular fanlight. The other houses have simpler doorways, positioned at the head of straight steps which include a handrail. These doorways feature painted wood Doric pilasters, pediments, and semicircular fanlights; the eastern doorway lacks internal divisions, although the inner door retains them. A small cupola is situated centrally above the main house, faced with slates, containing four sash windows facing the cardinal directions. It features a dentilled cornice and a lead dome. A full-height extension, contemporary to the original construction, is located to the rear, prominently displaying a wide three-window bay on all storeys.

The building is part of a group including numbers 41 to 57 (odd), 55A, numbers 65 to 71 (odd), and the associated walls.