The three-storey house is distinct for its two-storey foyer lit from a cupola and a series of elliptical rooms.
A semi-circular portico is centered on the house's colonnade of paired Ionic columns.
[2] In 1943, with the planning for D-Day already underway, the house was chosen to be the location of the advance or forward command post (Sharpener Camp) of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force.
[2] In 1944, in the months leading up to D-Day, the house became the headquarters of the main allied commanders, including Allied Supreme Commander General Eisenhower, Naval Commander-in-Chief Admiral Ramsay and Army Commander-in-Chief General Montgomery.
[7] The following year the detached clock tower – a three-stage Italianate structure with a slate roof – was also Grade II listed.