Administration Building at Didsbury Campus, Manchester Metropolitan University (original portion only)

A house, built around 1790, was extensively altered in 1842 to become the Wesleyan Theological College and subsequently incorporated into Manchester Metropolitan University. The building is constructed of sandstone ashlar for the frontages, with red brick in Flemish bond and sandstone dressings for the rear and courtyard walls. The roofs are slate, with glazed skylights. The building comprises four ranges arranged around a large rectangular courtyard, with the original house forming an entrance block at the west end and shorter wings projecting from the rear range.

It is of Classical style. The main facade has a three-storey, five-bay centre that projects forward, flanked by two-storey, two-bay side ranges and end pavilions that also project. The ground floor is channelled rusticated. Above this, giant pilasters rise to acanthus and reed capitals, surmounted by a pediment. The end pavilions feature paired pilasters. The central doorway has a square, moulded surround. Tripartite windows are present in the end pavilions, with the left-hand windows altered to include stained glass; the remaining windows are sash windows with mostly 12-pane glazing. The return walls have paired pilasters and similar sash windows. Lower, 12-bay side ranges extend from the return walls, featuring 12-pane sashes on the ground floor and 9-pane sashes above, and terminate in matching rear wings. The rear range consists of 16 bays, with pilastered end bays and a centrally rebuilt section in buff brick, providing a passage through.

Courtyard elevations feature sandstone plinths, bands to both floors, cornices, blocking courses, and sash windows with flat-arched heads, incorporating both 12- and 9-pane glazing. A former external kitchen, linked to the entrance block and with extensive basements, has a small basement area to its north side. 20th-century additions are attached to the south-east corner.

The interior features an entrance hall containing a screen of reeded columns distyle in antis, an elliptical open-well staircase with a wrought-iron balustrade, coved niches, and elliptical arched sash windows with intersecting glazing bars. Axial corridors on the first floor of the side wings are lit by continuous ridged skylights with tilting casement windows. Extensive storage basements are connected to the kitchen range by a dumb-waiter.