Rock Hall House

Rock Hall House is a much-enlarged villa that was built in the early 19th century and has since been converted from a school to residential use, with 20th-century additions. The building features limestone ashlar and rock-faced masonry, topped with a double Roman tile roof.

The original section consists of a three-storey villa with full-height canted bays, each featuring three six-over-six pane sash windows with dropped drip courses above the lintels on every floor. These flank a narrow central section that resembles a small square tower, which is slightly set forward from the main façade. A central portico with Doric columns, fluted neckings, and a fluted frieze includes a sash window that replaces the former door. The tower rises to a square blind stage with sunk circular panels on each face, a cornice, and blocking, while the main front has a cavetto cornice beneath lead-clad blocking. The gable facing the road is plain.

To the left is a later addition from around 1900, which is a large L-shaped block of two storeys with an attic and basement, faced in rock-faced rustication. This addition features tall windows arranged closely together in rows, consisting of six-over-nine pane windows with six-pane lights above. The hipped roof has pyramid-capped louvres with weathervanes on each range, and tall chimney stacks are located at the gable end, the side of the shorter range, and along the main ridge.

The interior has not been inspected. Historically, the large addition was previously occupied by the Magdalen College School. The design of the earlier villa is noted for its vigorous Baroque modelling and the significant amount of glazing relative to the minimal walling.