Chorleywood College

Chorleywood College is a country house built in 1865 for J.S. Gilliatt, now used as a college. The building is constructed in yellow brick with stone dressings and features a slate mansard roof in the French Renaissance style.

The front elevation is arranged as two distinct blocks, the rear block being the longer. The main front rises two storeys with attics. The front facade is composed of 3:3:3 bays with the centre portion projecting forward. A projecting central porch features front and return round arches enclosed by glazing and panelled doors. The corner piers have plinths, fluted colonnettes, foliate ornament and monograms in the spandrels, with keyed blocks to the archivolts. A moulded cornice runs across with a pierced parapet featuring circular openings.

The flanking ground floor has 3 by 3 windows with ovolo moulded stone mullion and transom frames and cornices. A plinth runs below. The first floor string course is articulated with 3 sashes in lugged architraves to the central portion, the centre sash being slightly larger. Each bay is articulated by giant pilaster strips. A moulded cornice rises to the mansard attic with segmental pedimented dormers featuring pilaster jambs to the round headed windows. The centre dormer is elaborated with double pilasters, scrolled sides and an open pediment with a smaller open pediment rising above it. Railings run on top of the roof. The outer bays contain tall ground floor sashes with lugged and corniced architraves, with plinth, sill bands and string course. First floor sashes have lugged architraves and a moulded cornice, with dormers as described for the centre bay but with relief carving in the pediments. Cross axial stacks with stone moulded bases and caps and blind key blocked round arches on shafts flank the central bays, located at the left end and to the rear right. A bay to the right return has a large iron and glass conservatory attached, featuring a moulded stone base and coved roof.

The garden front is composed of 1:2:3:2:1 bays with the centre and ends projecting forward. The ground floor centre has tripartite French windows with stone plinth and loosely Corinthian architraves. The first floor string course is followed by 1:2:1 light windows with pilaster mullions, the left window featuring stained glass to the stairs. Giant brick pilasters with stone carved capitals rise through the elevation. A moulded cornice sits below three dormers with round headed windows, pilaster jambs, masks over keys, modillioned cornices and hipped roofs. Carved festoons appear below the eaves and at sills. Flanking the centre are two bays set back, with ground floor French windows to the left and tall sashes to the right with stone plinth. Linking the central and end bays in front of the ground floor are Doric ashlar double arcades with round key blocked archivolts and carved medallions in the spandrels. The first floor has sashes with lugged architraves. The outer bays feature tripartite windows on both floors with pilaster mullions, giant pilasters and hipped roofs. Stacks on the rear block are as at the front.

Attached to the left from the front is a two storey service wing in stock brick with glazing bar sashes with stone sills and gauged brick flat arched heads. A plain coped parapet runs across. A plat band appears to the rear. The front bay nearest the main range has a dormer in a mansard as on the main range.

The interior contains two marble Corinthian columns in the entrance hall leading to an open well stair with turned balusters and carved newel posts. A panelled and coved soffit extends to the gallery with a plasterwork ceiling. Elsewhere are elaborate wood chimney pieces, panelling, library shelving and plasterwork ceilings all executed in 17th century styles.

The building was formerly known as the Cedars.