Passmore Edwards House at the National Society for Epilepsy

Passmore Edwards House is an administration block built for the National Society of Epileptics between 1903 and 1904, designed by Charles Grieve. It is constructed of red brick with tile hanging to the first floor, and has a tiled hipped roof with projecting timber-framed gables. Originally an L-shaped, two-storey building with offices and stores on the ground floor and bedrooms above, it has since been extended. The front has three bays with projecting windows and a central entrance porch which has a segmental pediment above, incorporating squat columns and a frieze bearing the date 1904. The central doorway is under an arched timber and glass surround. Ground floor windows are timber casements, while the upper floor windows are uPVC. Extensions to the side and rear are not of particular interest.

The building was named after Passmore Edwards, a benefactor of the 1894 Chalfont Colony, which pioneered a village community concept for people with epilepsy. Passmore Edwards was the proprietor of the Building News magazine, a supporter of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and known for building public libraries.

Passmore Edwards House occupies a prominent central position within the site, reflecting its importance. The buildings at the Chalfont Centre form a notable group, valued for their historical importance in the treatment of epilepsy and as examples, even when altered, of Arts and Crafts architecture intended to create a domestic atmosphere within an institutional setting.