Semaphore House
SEMAPHORE HOUSE, PEWLEY HILL
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1377890
- Date first listed:
- 01-May-1953
- List Entry Name:
- Semaphore House
- Statutory Address:
- SEMAPHORE HOUSE, PEWLEY HILL
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2001-07-23
- Reference:
- IOE01/03023/13
- Rights:
- © Norman Wigg. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1377890
- Date first listed:
- 01-May-1953
- List Entry Name:
- Semaphore House
- Statutory Address 1:
- SEMAPHORE HOUSE, PEWLEY HILL
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- SEMAPHORE HOUSE, PEWLEY HILL
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Surrey
- District:
- Guildford (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 00229 49197
Details
TQ 04NW GUILDFORD PEWLEY HILL (North Side) 4/171 1/5/53 Semaphore House
II Semaphore station. Constructed circa 1820 by the Admiralty, with later C19 wings. Cement render with rusticated quoins, tile hung central tower under lead dome, slate and tile roofs to remainder. Square tower surmounted by later octagonal turret to centre flanked by lower side wings. Two-storey side wings with rear stacks to left and right, 3-storey tower. Entrance to rear:- rusticated angle quoins to centre and ends, plat band over ground floor. Plate glass sash fenes- tration with two windows on each floor of each side wing, and on upper floors of tower. Balustraded parapet to tower with panelled newels. Central flat-roofed porch, half-glazed with anthemion.and honeysuckle pattern ironwork on lower part, door to centre. Right hand return front (facing Semaphore Road):- Gable end with two storey projecting bay, rusticated angle quoins and plat band. Tripartite sash window to ground floor, C20 casements above. Rear (North front) - irregular C19 and C20 mixed fenestration. One of a line of Semaphore stations from London to Portsmouth, some of which were built on the site of earlier shutter telegraphs used during the Napoleonic Wars. Each station originally comprised an octagonal tower with signalling room and living accommodation for the lieutenant in charge. Signalling was by means of two moveable arms attached to a pole surmounting the tower. Of seven stations originally in Surrey only three remain, the others being at Telegraph Hill (Cooper's Hill), & Chately Hill both in the borough of Elmbridge.
G. WILSON: THE OLD TELEGRAPHS (1976) M. ALEXANDER: GUILDFORD AS IT WAS (1978)
Listing NGR: TQ0022949197
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 289036
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Alexander, M, Guildford As It Was, (1978)
Wilson, G, The Old Telegraphs, (1976)
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 11-Jun-2026 at 20:31:40.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.