The Oratory School

The Oratory School is a country house, dating back to the early 18th century and remodelled around 1910 by Detmar Blow. It is constructed with a stone base and red brick facade, with a slate roof to the centre and plain tile roofs to the wings, topped with lead ridges. Brick stacks are also present. The building follows a double-depth plan, comprising three storeys and an attic to the central section, and two storeys and an attic to the wings, with a 13-window range. The central three bays feature a prominent doorcase with a segmental pediment supported by volutes, incorporating a carved basket and fruit design within the tympanum. A sash door with a rectangular light above is set within, flanked by 12-pane sashes. A brick band defines the division between the ground and first floors. The first floor has three 12-pane sashes, and the second floor has three 6-pane sashes. A pedimented gable tops the roof, containing an oval window.

Flanking wings are positioned to the left and right, featuring 12-pane sashes to all openings, with a sash door on the left wing. Two flat-roofed dormers are present on the right wing. The ends of the building have two bays each; the left end has a 6-pane sash, and the right end has a 12-pane sash. The rear elevation presents a three-storey central section and a two-storey wing section, with a 14-window range and a central double sash door with a round light above. Further large 20th-century wings and extensions are not of special architectural importance.

The interior features an entrance hall with a black and white marble floor, Tuscan Doric columns supporting an entablature with a swagged frieze, and an early 18th-century carved wooden fireplace. The open-well staircase has three turned balusters to each tread. A room in the west wing is decorated in the Adam style, featuring a ceiling and doorcases from around 1780. Subsidiary wings situated to the left and right of the entrance front are constructed from brown brick with red brick dressings and have plain tile roofs with lead ridges. Returns of the wings incorporate arched details and sash windows.