27, Boyn Hill Avenue

This is a large house, built between 1854 and 1857, and later converted into a college building. It was designed by George Edmund Street for Emily and Maria Hulme. The house is constructed of red brick with decorative blue brick detailing and has 20th-century tile roofing. It is two storeys high with an attic.

The north facade, which serves as the entrance, is divided into several blocks. To the left is a block with a lean-to porch containing a half-glazed door, flanked by a narrow window to the right and two similar windows to the left. To the right of this is a large, segment-headed, four-light casement window set under a pointed blind arch. Above are two smaller two-light casement windows, also under pointed relieving arches, with two 20th-century casements to the left. A set back block to the right has a tall single light window and a two-light, segment-headed casement with a pointed relieving arch, followed by a central buttress with set-offs. The main pointed arched entrance has double plank doors and ornate iron hinges. A single upper staircase window of three lights in a pointed arch surround is located to the left, with a small single casement and two two-light casement windows beyond. A further set-back block has two single light casements, and above, a two-light casement window. A final, set-back end block has irregularly spaced single light windows. The west facade features three single light windows and a buttress with set-offs. The south garden facade has a large, segment-headed, three-light casement, with a modern metal-framed window above. To the right, a two-storey canted brick bay window has French windows on the ground floor and flat-headed 20th-century windows above. Beyond that is a two-light casement, followed by a buttress supporting a projecting first floor external chimney with a truncated stack. A single-storey canted bay window with segment-headed casements is located further to the right, with two further 20th-century metal-framed casements above.

The interior retains original features, including five chimney pieces, original doors, window shutters and plasterwork. The dining room has been preserved with original panelling, chimney-piece, coving and door. The main and rear staircases are intact; the main staircase features a diamond pattern balustrade, arched balustrade to landings, and newel posts decorated with leaf carvings.

The house was originally designed for Emily and Maria Hulme, daughters of the Reverend William Hulme, who founded the evangelical Holy Trinity Church in Reading. However, it was lived in by the Lamotte sisters, who commissioned the steeple and almshouse at Boyne Hill.

The building is part of a group that contains significant architectural merit, including the Church of All Saints (Grade I), Vicarage Cottage, All Saints Cottage, the Parish Centre and No.1 Church Close (all Grade II*), and the former Infants School, the former almshouses, Girls School, and Vicarage Lodge (all Grade II).