Penn Hill House (Oldfield School 6Th Form)

This is a mid-19th century house, now part of a school and used as a 6th form block. Extensions were added in 1904 and 1924, designed by Reginald Blomfield for Sir Ernest Pitman and exhibited at the Royal Academy (1904 exhibition and a design exhibited in 1919). The house is constructed of limestone ashlar with a Welsh slate roof and features parapeted roofs and moulded ridge and side stacks.

The building is an Italianate villa with Baroque-style extensions to the centre and left of the front, and to the rear right. It has two storeys, an attic, and a basement. The front elevation, largely of 1924 design, has a five-window range of four/four, eight/eight, and tripartite sash windows. The central section has channelled stonework and a set of steps leading to double doors with a decorative fanlight. A console supports an ornamental cartouche above the archway, which sits within an open aedicule with columns and a modillion cornice. Flanking the central section are tall tripartite sashes, and to the left is a projecting two-window section with sashes in simplified architraves. Other details include quoins, storey bands, and eaves bands. A projecting pillar of quoins supports a gable to the right. The attic has sashes and a pair of round-headed windows. A single-storey range terminates in a square gate pier.

The left side of the building has a two-window range of 1924 design followed by round-headed sashes, some with margin lights and some within a two-storey canted bay. The rear elevation is similar, with a 1904 range to the left featuring a two-storey bow with eight/eight over twelve/twelve-sash windows, elaborately carved drops and swags. Matching sashes are present to the right. A small belvedere tower with a pyramid roof, wide eaves, and arched windows rises above the house.

The interior features a fine circular vestibule with a domed lantern, leading to a two-storey hall with a balustrade. A Georgian-style dogleg staircase with turned balusters, carved tread ends and a ramped, wreathed handrail is accessible from the hall through a now-blocked columned screen, replaced with double doors. Other rooms have decorative cornices, ceiling roses, and fireplaces. One former bedroom has framed panels and a fireplace likely dating to 1904. The group value of the building stems from its architectural merit and historical significance.