Elmslie School

Elmslie School is a former house that has been incorporated into a school. Built in 1896, it has undergone minor alterations in the late 20th century. The building features coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings on the front elevation, while the sides are constructed of red brick. It has an irregular 'L' plan.

The front elevation is two storeys high and consists of three bays, showcasing an elaborate and asymmetrical design. The central doorway is enclosed within an open flat-roofed porch, which is supported by slender marble columns with foliated capitals. The entrance features a decorative surround with slender engaged columns on the jambs and a tall overlight with a stilted arched head. To the left, there is a gabled bay with an advanced ground floor that has two lights and a four-part overlight. A moulded cornice connects with the porch as a continuous feature. Above this, there is a canted first-floor bay with a lead canopy. The ornate gable has slender corner turrets with pinnacles and an elaborate carved apex finial. The right-hand bay is not gabled but matches the arrangement of bays below a stepped parapet, with corbelled turrets at the corners topped with circular crenellated caps.

The rear range on the left side includes a tall side wall chimney and a projecting stair turret with stepped lancets at the upper part. The right side has a canted corner linking the front and rear ranges, which features plain undivided sash frames. The 20th-century joinery is present elsewhere in the building.

Inside, the school remains largely unaltered, retaining much of its original decorative ceiling and wall plasterwork, along with high-quality joinery that includes panelled doors with moulded architraves and carved cresting. The principal staircase is well-finished and ornate, featuring stained glass lights in the lower partition, and there are elaborate chimney pieces with overmantles.

Historically, the house, originally named 'The Elms', was built for William and Sarah Powell in 1896 and was converted into a school in 1922. The other buildings on the school site are not considered of special interest.