The Cloisters

The Cloisters is a building constructed between 1906 and 1907 by W H Cowlishaw, originally designed for Miss Annie Lawrence as a residential School of Psychology. It was later adapted for use as a preparatory school and then a concert hall, before becoming a masonic lodge by 1948. The building features a romantic design with a high octagonal tower and two open turrets that have spiral staircases, rising above the cloister garth, which is an open semi-circular court that was later covered with a rotunda for the concert hall use. Originally, it included cubicles for dressing linked to an open swimming bath. The structure is made of grey brick with diaper work patterns and Purbeck stone dressings, topped with tiled roofs. Much of the rich, symbolic carved work, including motifs like doves and bats, was left uncompleted when the project halted in 1907.

Inside, the building has painted brick walls and mass concrete vaulting. The windows are two-light mullioned casements with leaded lights, arranged as large mullioned key windows around the central court. The entrance is located in the north-west corner and is accessed by flights of steps leading to an arched portico. The cloister garth features an arcade with columns made of Swedish green marble and a central fountain in Art Nouveau style, which supports the tower. There are modern additions at the rear of the building.