Southwick House was completed in 1813 and rebuilt after a fire in 1841. The house was requisitioned by the government during World War II and the house was subsequently Eisenhower’s SHAEF headquarters for the planning of Operation Overlord. In the build-up to D-Day the village was taken over by the Allied Command with Nissan huts erected to house the men with the unofficial Officer’s Mess in the Golden Lion pub. The original D-Day Map remains in the house and Southwick House which is still owned by the Ministry of Defence. Access to the Map Room is by appointment only through the Defence School of Policing and Guarding.