Former Power House, Lord Wandsworth College

Former Power House, Lord Wandsworth College

Built in 1915 to designs by Guy Dawber, this single-storey brick building originally functioned as a power house. It was converted to a woodwork classroom in 1934–35 and has undergone several subsequent conversions, now serving as a Design and Technology and IT Block.

The walls are constructed of red and grey brick laid in Flemish bond with a clay tile roof. The building comprises a main east-west range forming the Design and Technology Block, to which is attached a projecting wing at the rear. A further east-west range runs from this wing, creating an L-shaped plan behind the main range. This rear range, consisting of one large room, is used as the IT Department. The Design and Technology Block comprises two large teaching rooms divided north-south, with a 1964–66 extension to the west. Individual blocks are accessed externally, with main doors opening directly into the rooms.

The southern elevation of the main range features a simple brick wall beneath a steeply-pitched and hipped roof. The front elevation is punctuated by a series of five windows, of which all but two are modern replacements, with a part-glazed wooden door placed centrally and a secondary door at the eastern end. Two small dormer windows light the main double-height interior space, and a lead and glass roof lantern sits centrally on the roof ridge. The lantern, glazed on all four sides and inscribed with the date of construction, is topped by a concave pyramidal roof with a dentilated cornice. To the western side is a flat-roofed 1960s L-shaped extension. The eastern elevation of the main range has two wooden casement windows with segmental arches beneath the hip of the roof. The northern elevation contains several fire escape doors from the Design and Technology rooms. The connecting wing is single-storey brick construction with a hipped roof, featuring wooden twelve-light casement windows at ground-floor level and a dormer with louvres on its eastern side. The IT Department is similarly detailed with wooden doors interspersed with casement windows.

Internally, the Design and Technology block is divided into three areas. The eastern end is divided by two sets of sliding wooden doors, while the western end, comprising part of the 1915 range and the 1960s extension, is accessed through a later-added partition. The 1915 building's main central space retains brown, green and cream ceramic tile cladding on its walls, timber-framed roof structure formed with sling braces, and a timber-block floor. The IT block has been largely remodelled in recent years but retains its timber roof structure with an angle strut and king bolt configuration. The projecting wing connecting the Design and Technology block to the IT room was not inspected internally.