The Normal College (Original Building)

The Normal College (Original Building) is an 18th-century educational structure designed in an E-plan, featuring two storeys and an attic. It is constructed of ashlar stone with decorative band courses, a plinth, and gable parapets, topped with slate roofs that are taller at the end wings. The building includes leaded bellcotes and stone chimney stacks, some positioned at the angles, and exhibits a generally severe detail.

The symmetrical northern front showcases stepped gables with a seven-window centre and shaped gables on the three-window end wings, which also feature bull-nosed rubble basements and splayed angles at the first floor. A central ‘prospect’ tower, adorned with a shaped gable and gargoyles, is a prominent feature. The windows are a mix of mullion and transom styles in various proportions, with two-storey bay windows on the northern faces of the end wings and single-storey bays with cornices leading to a return gabled porch that includes a bowed oriel. A broad flight of steps leads up to a triple entrance, which is flanked by heavily banded piers and keyblocked round arches, also seen on the sides. The entrance consists of panelled double doors with narrow windows on either side. There is an additional entrance to the left-hand wing, which has a central bay, and a basement extension on the right-hand wing. The tower features narrow windows, a pitched roof, and bullseye gable windows, topped with a weathervane dated 1862. The side elevations have three gables, with the right side including a central porch. The rear displays slightly advanced and gabled central and end bays, flanked by splayed bay windows with shaped parapets, first-floor oriels at the ends, pitched roof dormers, and arched entrances with recessed doors.

Inside, the building features a square full-height entrance hall and stairwell, with a stone staircase that boasts a highly ornate iron balustrade.