Originally a farmhouse based in an agricultural area in the parish of Patcham, north of Brighton, it was bought and extensively remodelled in 1790 for a long-established local family.

[2] The manor and estate of Moulsecoomb later belonged to Lewes Priory, and Mouscombe Farm was first named in the early 17th century when it was owned by Sir Edward Culpepper.

[1][3] In the early 16th century, a timber-framed hall house was built on the estate near the farm (although some sources claim a late-14th-century date).

The hall house is the oldest secular building in Brighton, and is presumed to be a remnant of a larger medieval manor house—perhaps the forerunner of the present Moulsecoomb Place,[2] which has its origins in the early 18th century.

[2][4] The building was thereafter the seat of the locally important Tillstone family for more than a century, and was the centrepiece of an estate extending to 1,000 acres (400 ha).

Rogers-Tillstone, sold Moulsecoomb Place and the family's estate to Brighton Corporation (predecessor of the present city council) in February 1925.

[2] Between August 1948 and November 1969, part of the building was registered as a place of worship by a group of Christians known as Moulsecoomb Free Church.

[2][10] The student residences consist of flats accommodating six to eight people, each with their own bedroom but with shared bathroom and laundry facilities.

[13] The seven-bay façade, which faces east,[7] is the original part dating from 1790; another two-window range was added on the south side in the early 20th century,[2] making the composition asymmetrical.

[2] The timber-framed hall house, whose interior had been significantly altered by the time it was in use as a bar and social club, is believed to be the surviving section of a larger building dating from the medieval era.

[2][7] The areas between the closely studded timber frame are filled in with a mixture of plaster, flint and brickwork, and tiles cover the hipped roof.

The tithe barn, which was extended in the 19th century, is linked to the hall house by a bridge-like section of the same date.

The main staircase is in a hall with a vaulted ceiling, in which mahogany doors with Greek Revival-style panelling lead to various rooms.