St Hildas Preparatory School

St Hilda's Preparatory School, formerly known as Woodlands Hall, is a large house that has been converted into a school. It was built in the third quarter of the 18th century and has undergone additions and alterations in 1919 by W. Brierley of York and in 1960. The building features coursed tooled stone with ashlar dressings and has a hipped pantiled roof with dormers set behind a battlemented parapet. The entrance front is two storeys with an attic and consists of two irregular bays. To the left, there is a half-glazed door with a patterned radial fanlight and a round architrave, set in a pedimented prostyle porch. Above the door is a single sash window, while on the right are tripartite sashes, all with glazing bars and set under shallow segmental arches with cut voussoirs and keystones.

To the left, there is a long, irregular two-storey domestic wing that lacks a parapet but features end stone gable coping and a kneeler. The garden front has two storeys and a basement with five bays, where the central windows are blank and the lower section is painted trompe l'oeil. There are bands at the cornice and ground floor levels, and sash windows with glazing bars in wood architraves, similar to those on the entrance front. The garden front also includes two segment-headed dormers. The east front has three irregular bays with similar window styles, although some windows have been replaced. A projecting doorway from 1919 is present, along with a 1960s dining room extension that is not of particular interest. There are further extensions from 1919 to the north and along the north front of the house, designed in a similar style and using matching materials.

Inside, the staircase curves around an oval stairwell and features a dado rail, with two turned balusters per tread, a cut string, carved tread ends, and a ramped handrail with a spiral curtail. The landing window is an enriched Venetian style. The hall and staircase ceilings showcase ornamental plasterwork, and several reception rooms retain original cornices and chimney-pieces. Throughout the building, original doors and doorcases of good quality can be found.