Donhead House

Donhead House is a rectory, dating to the early 18th century, which was later adapted as a training centre for the Brewers' Society. It was altered in 1892 for Horace Chapman, possibly by C.E. Ponting, and enlarged in the early 20th century for James Pender. The house is constructed of dressed limestone with a tiled roof and ashlar stacks featuring moulded cappings. It has a largely L-shaped plan with later additions to the north and east.

The south-west front, a two-storey, five-window arrangement, showcases alterations from the late 19th century, with a late 19th century glazed door set within a projecting central bay. This bay is framed by a Gibbs surround and a flat stone hood on consoles. Flanking the central bay, early 20th century canted bays incorporate plate glass sashes. The first floor features two 12-pane sashes within moulded architraves with keystones, around a central round-arched sash with a keystone and imposts to a shouldered architrave, topped by an open pediment. A wooden cornice with rosettes runs along the eaves; the quoins are channelled and rusticated. Three early 20th century dormers with casements are visible in the attic. The roof has coped verges.

Attached to the left is a late 19th-century range in a matching style, featuring a two-storey canted bay and sashes. A French window is topped by a large shell hood, and a gabled attic sits to the left. The right return has an external stack and blocked sashes. An 1890s, three-storey porch in Elizabethan style is present, with a round-arched doorway and mullioned windows. To the right of the porch is a square bay with mullioned and transomed windows. A first-floor 12-pane sash is visible. Cast-iron rainwater heads are dated HC/1892. The left return of the 1890s range presents sashes within moulded architraves, and a large stack with a carved panel inscribed "HC and AM". An early 20th century billiard room with a loggia on the south side is attached to the left. A two-storey service wing is located at the rear, with sashes and 1890s additions.

Inside, original 18th-century features remain, including full fielded panelling, a door with six fielded panels, and a dentilled ceiling cornice in the south-east drawing room. A dining room incorporates reset 16th-century moulded cross-beams with rosette and cusped decoration, along with reset 17th-century panelling within corridors and the 1890s range. The 1890s open-well staircase is topped by a glazed lantern. The house ceased to be a rectory in 1891, when Horace Chapman converted it to a private residence and commissioned the construction of a new rectory, Beauchamp House, further up the hill. Notably, Anthony Eden resided at Donhead House for a year following the Suez Crisis of 1956.