Building record 1118700000 - POUNDON HOUSE

Grade II. Mansion. Dated 1908 on foundation stone. Built by local firm Lewis Penn for J.P.H. Heywood-Lonsdale Esq. Dressed ironstone with plinth, moulded band course, chamfered quoins and wooden eaves cornice on brackets. Hipped stone slate roof. Dressed stone chimneys with square shafts set diagonally. H-plan. In the style of c 1700. 2 storeys and attic. S.E. front has 9 bays, 2 outer bays on each side projecting. Barred sash windows in architrave surrounds, those to ground floor with keyblocks. Slightly projecting centre bay has pediment with wooden mouldings, and glazed and barred double doors in architrave surround with entablature and swan-neck pediment. 2 attic dormers have 5-light leaded casements with small central pediments. U-plan service wing to right has basement, main storey with cross windows, and hipped-dormers with paired leaded casements. Garden walls attached to front corners of house curve round to relieving wall of terrace. These walls are of ironstone with rusticated gate piers. Rear of house facing road, is irregular with Serlian window to left of centre, groups of 3 sash windows to right, and open pediment to centre bay. Door has flanking Doric pilasters, triglyph entablature and segmental pediment. Attached low ironstone walls to forecourt (B1).
Poundon House was used as another communication centre by the SOE during the Second World War for the development and cracking of codes and ciphers (B3).
SOE's second Home Station was constructed at Poundon House, known as Station 53b. The receiver was at Poundon and the transmitter at Godington (Oxfordshire). The earliest reference to Station 53b was in 1942 and it was closed as an SOE establishment on 24th July 1945. Detailed description (B5).