Conservative Club

The Conservative Club, built between 1879 and 1899, was designed by JY McIntosh. It is constructed of ashlar sandstone with a graduated slate roof. The building is two storeys and has a 3:3:3 bay arrangement, presenting an asymmetrical facade with a prominent pedimented centre and varying treatment of the side wings. Classical detailing is evident throughout.

The front features a moulded plinth, panelled pedestals to fluted Corinthian pilasters, continuous moulded sill bands, and a fluted first-floor string course. The central bay contains the main entrance, which has a panelled double door and a gilded fanlight under an archivolt with a console keystone and carved spandrels. Leaded side-lights are flanked by pilasters with carved brackets to the cornice, topped by a balustraded balcony. Mullioned, two-light windows with cornices are positioned on each side. Bays 1-3 have recessed double doors under a round arch within a pedimented aedicule with a Venetian window on each side. Bays 7-9 have a single doorway beneath a keyed oculus on the left and two 12-pane sashes in architraves. The first floor features balcony doors and overlights with glazing bars in a pedimented aedicule, and 12-pane sashes with apron panels and segmental arches with keystones within shouldered architraves. The windows in bays 7-9 match these. Bays 1-3 have a blind pilastrade with a central, keyed oculus in a scrolled panel under an arched cornice. The entablature is characterised by a plain frieze and dentilled cornice; the central pediment is modillioned and features a keyed oculus in the tympanum. A coped ashlar parapet tops a hipped roof, with a corniced stack to the right of the centre and another to the right end, along with a truncated ventilator over the left wing. The right return showcases two bays in ashlar, and a one-storey, four-bay brick wing on the right.

The interior has been extensively remodelled. The former Queen's Hall, located within the left wing, is now a billiard room with a dance hall above. A foundation stone, laid by Sir Charles Cayzer on August 17, 1897, is set into the front right pilaster pedestal. The building was officially opened on September 21, 1898. Surviving building plans, dated 1897, indicate a different facade treatment than the one ultimately constructed.