2, South Parks Road

This building, located at 2 South Parks Road, is a house that now serves as offices for the University of Oxford. It was constructed between 1865 and 1866 by the architect William Wilkinson for George Rolleston. The house is made of brick in three colors, featuring brick dressings, a string course, and an eaves cornice. The roofs are hipped and gabled, covered with plain tiles and adorned with terracotta flashings and various elaborate ridge stacks.

Designed in a High Victorian style, the house showcases Gothic arched relieving arches over segmental or flat brick stone arches that frame the sash windows. It has two storeys and an attic, with a picturesque outline characterized by scattered fenestration; the left side of the front projects forward. The entrance is located at the right end, set within a gable end that acts as a frontispiece, with a window to the left of the entrance and two windows above it. The gable apex features half-timbering. To the right, there is a square projecting bay with paired sash windows and a pentice roof.

The rear of the house presents a long, carefully composed façade, with three elements that recede slightly to the right. This includes gables, half-hipped gables, and a pepperpot turret that is corbelled out at the first floor level and rises through two storeys.

This house is a finely detailed example of a suburban villa from its period, designed by a well-known architect. It is part of a notable group of historic buildings, including the adjacent No. 1 and Rhodes House located opposite.