Rushmore House

Rushmore House is an early 19th century country house, later remodelled and extended around 1880 for General Pitt-Rivers by Philip Webb. It is now part of Sandroyd School. The house is constructed of limestone ashlar with Welsh slate hipped roofs and ashlar stacks. The main house comprises an early 19th century range and a larger, late 19th century range attached to the south. The front of the building has two storeys and eleven windows. The three bays to the left present a late 19th century facade which fronts the earlier building. A flat-roofed, late 19th century porch is located to the left of the centre, featuring Ionic columns with banded vermiculation and angular volutes, an entablature, double six-panelled doors, and a fanlight. To the left of the porch are three tall casements with keystones; the central window has an eared architrave, and to the right is a single casement, followed by a two-storey canted bay with casements, and two blind windows. The first floor features three tall casements with moulded architraves and segmental or triangular pediments. Above the door are two casements, and to the right is a canted bay and two casements plus one blind window. A modillioned cornice and balustraded parapet are present to the right, while a panelled parapet is to the left. Four pedimented dormers are also visible. The early 19th century three-storey range to the left is rendered and contains four 12-pane sashes and plat bands, topped with a shallow-pitched hipped roof. The right return shows a two-storey, nine-window garden front, with flanking two-storey canted bays containing casements in moulded architraves and keystones. Casements and French windows appear in the centre bays, and the first floor has casements. The return features the same cornice and balustraded parapet as the front, and four pedimented dormers in the roof. The rear elevation has windows similar to those on the front, with a canted bay in the centre. The early 19th century range on the right features sashes and a late 19th century mullioned and transomed window illuminating the staircase. The interior retains fittings from the 1880s, including six-panelled and double six-panelled doors. The entrance hall has a door with an open pediment and marble fireplaces. The stair hall is characterized by full-height panelling and bolection-moulded door cases. The early 18th-style staircase includes three turned balusters per tread and a ramped handrail. A large, single-storey extension of the 20th century, matching the details of the main house, is attached to the left return. General A.H. Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers acquired Rushmore House in 1880 and studied and lived in Cranborne Chase until his death in 1900.