Former St Katharine's College

The former St Katharine's College is a large complex built in 1930, formed around a principal C-shaped court that overlooks a lawned garden known as the Rector's Lawn, with a smaller quadrangle attached at the rear.

Exterior

The complex is characterised by mullioned, cross, and mullioned and transomed windows with leaded glazing throughout, though some have been replaced. External doors have largely been replaced.

The principal south elevation faces the Rector's Lawn and consists of a large 15-bay central core block with a hipped roof and mullioned and transomed windows. A parapet conceals the eaves, behind which are small dormer windows. The three central bays of the ground floor contain an entrance with a doorway (now with replaced doors), paired overlights, and two flanking cross windows, all set within a quoined ashlar surround. Above the doorway is a large datestone displaying '1930' in stylised numerals. The outer bays are wider and project slightly forward, featuring two-storey canted bay windows. A tall battered-copper bell cupola surmounted by a weather vane, with a clock face on the south side, rises from the centre of the roof's ridge.

Lower accommodation wings with hipped mansard roofs flank the central block and turn southwards for 18 bays, forming a large three-sided court around the Rector's Lawn. Small mid- to late 20th-century flat-roofed single-storey extensions are located at the junctions of the central block and flanking wings. The external north-west and north-east corners of the short flanking wings have a butterfly plan and incorporate ground floor entrances. The north-east entrance has a simple hipped-roofed porch attached at the centre, whilst the north-west entrance has a flat-roofed open porch with a wide arched opening and flanking angled piers that rise above the porch's parapet and are surmounted by stepped stone caps and ball finials.

The two main accommodation wings flanking the Rector's Lawn have identically styled west and east elevations with paired and triple-light mullioned windows with plain brick mullions, and dormer windows at attic level. Dormers set above the paired windows have segmental heads. Rows of chimneystacks rise from the roofs, all with a V-section rib that continues down the wall face to a brick corbel. The wings terminate at their southern ends on the court-facing elevations with single bays that project slightly forward, both incorporating doorways with ashlar surrounds and replaced doors. Similar doorways are found at the centre of the shorter wings immediately flanking the central block. The south returns of the two main accommodation wings are of three bays with the central bay forming a two-storey canted stair window topped by a parapet.

To the rear of the central core block is a much smaller quadrangle treated as a cloister with large semi-circular windows at ground floor level on all four sides. Two tall gabled wings enclose the quadrangle to the west and east. The west wing is of two storeys with a first floor chapel lit by six round-headed lancet windows that rise above the eaves line with gabled heads in the form of half-dormers. These contain leaded glazing incorporating stained glass depictions of female saints. The far window at the northern end has been shortened and partly blocked-up to accommodate a later wing forming the north side of the quadrangle. The chapel wing's external west elevation is similarly styled but has two shortened windows to the northern end due to a two-storey late 20th-century library addition attached at a right angle. A detached circa 1977 building known as the Markland Building is also attached to the chapel wing's external elevation via a narrow enclosed linking corridor. A small chapel bell is attached to the chapel wing's south gable end. The north gable end is surmounted by a cross finial and the apex incorporates an arched recess containing a cross roundel.

The wing forming the east side of the rear quadrangle is of the same height and scale as the chapel wing but also includes an attic level. It is lit mainly by triple-light mullioned windows to the first floor and dormer windows to the attic. Two wide round-headed lancet windows exist at the northern end of the first floor with raised gabled heads in the same style as those to the chapel wing. The far north end window has been partly blocked-up and is now obscured by the later wing forming the north side of the quadrangle. The wing's external east elevation has a series of paired and triple-light mullioned windows to the ground floor, cross and mullioned and transomed windows to the first floor, and dormer windows at attic level.

The wing forming the north side of the quadrangle is a late 20th-century addition that replaced an original single-storey entrance wing and now forms part of the Sheppard-Worlock Library. Attached to each end of the north wing, and projecting at right angles from the northernmost bays of the east and west wings, are further late 20th-century additions that also form part of the library. These areas are not of special interest and are excluded from the listing.

Interior

Many original parquet floors and original doors (some with overlights and some incorporating glazed upper panels) survive throughout the college interior, along with arched openings in some of the corridors.

The central core block contains classrooms and offices, including the Vice Chancellor's office, which is set at the centre of the ground floor overlooking the Rector's Lawn. A corridor with veneer wall panelling up to door height runs alongside the north wall of the central core, overlooking the rear quadrangle. A similar corridor on the first floor has un-varnished panelling and doors. Two of the central core's ground floor offices contain timber fire surrounds, one of which has a ziggurat-shaped mantelpiece. The rest of the college's fireplaces are believed to have been removed. A staff common room located at the south-west corner of the central core has an elaborate fire surround brought in from elsewhere, which is attached to the west wall and flanked by later wall openings inserted to provide access into a mid- to late 20th-century single-storey extension. A corresponding extension on the other side of the central core block contains a modern office space and the college's original external wall retains an original loggia colonnade, which has now been in-filled with partly-glazed panels and a door.

Wide open-well stairs with stone steps, slender painted wrought-iron balusters, timber wreathed handrails and high veneer dados exist at each end of the central core block and are lit by large skylights with geometric leaded glazing. The well of the east stair also contains a modern glazed lift shaft. The attic level of both the central core block and the east rear quadrangle wing, which forms part of the library on the lower floors, have been modernised and most of the rooms have been opened up.

The short accommodation wings that flank the central core block and connect it to the two main accommodation wings flanking the Rector's Lawn have a central corridor on each floor with veneer wall panelling in the same style as that to the central core and small rooms off to each side. Both wings' corridors are lit by octagonal light wells that rise up to the roof (some of the wells are glazed over at each upper level) and are lit by octagonal roof lanterns. At each upper floor level the light well is enclosed by a metal balustrade.

The two main accommodation wings replicate the plan layout and design of the shorter accommodation wings, and most of the rooms off to each side have original fixed-bench seating underneath the windows. The ground floor rooms are now mainly used as offices, whilst the first floor and attic levels of the wings consist of student accommodation. The ground floor corridor of the east wing retains its original veneer wall panelling and doors, but both have been replaced on the upper floors following early 21st-century refurbishment works. The west wing corridors retain their original panelling and doors on each floor, but the panelling has been painted over. The main accommodation wings are also each lit by a series of three octagonal light wells and roof lanterns, which like those in the shorter wings originally rose through each floor up to the roof but have since been glazed or panelled over for safety reasons. The original metal balustrades surrounding the wells still survive on each upper floor and arranged around each light well are toilets and maintenance cupboards with quarry tiled floors. Located at the southern end of each main accommodation wing are open-well stairs identically styled to those in the central core but of a narrower width and with painted panelled dados.

The former chapel is now used as a meeting and conference venue and has a vaulted ceiling, parquet flooring, and plastered and painted walls. Three windows at the northern end of the chapel have been shortened following the addition of late 20th-century extensions to the college. The chapel contains modern raised platforms set to each side and the south end and surmounted by modern tip-up seating facing into the space. A modern inserted platform set towards the northern end of the chapel incorporates a disabled lift and a stair. The organ gallery is set at the south end of the chapel above a colonnade of three brick arches: those to the outer bays are blind and that to the centre forms the chapel entrance. The gallery has a partly gilded panelled front and contains a Henry Willis & Sons organ from 1895 brought from Tonbridge School Hall. The stained glass windows depicting female saints that light the chapel are believed to have been salvaged from the college's original Warrington premises. The former chancel has a marble and painted parquet floor with a marble altar platform. A panelled dado incorporating gilded beaded moulding, and an altar and doors in the same style, lines the walls of the chancel. Behind the altar is a full-height alcove containing a late 20th-century mural.