Old House, Rydal School

Old House at Rydal School is a 19th-century building constructed in 1883, featuring rusticated coursed and squared rubble with slate roofs that have scalloped bands and red tiled ridge cresting.

The entrance front faces south and includes an advanced full-height gable that is canted in plan. The entrance features a segmental arch with vermiculated voussoirs and decorative leaded lights with stained glass over the door. There are heavy cast iron lamp standards on either side of the doorway. To the left, a wider gable has a 2-light mullioned window on each floor, with high-set transoms and shouldered stone lintels. The gable apex projects slightly over a corbel table and has fretted bargeboards. To the right of the entrance, there is a 2-light mullioned and transomed window with decorative glazing on each floor, which lights the staircase. Beyond this, there is a 2-window range. The return elevation to the left features a 5-window range with a polygonal corner tower topped by a spirelet. There is a full-height canted bay window beneath a gable with fretted bargeboards towards the right, and dormers in the roofs have hipped roofs supported on moulded brackets.

In 1890, additions were made to extend the original house towards the east, facing Lansdowne Road. These additions are in a similar domestic style but feature wood mullioned and transomed windows with flat lintels and relieving arches, differing from the earlier design. There are two advanced gables on either side, with paired windows in the right-hand gable. The roofs overhang on struts and have finials on the bargeboards. The rear elevation, which faces the school quadrangles, has a recessed 2-window range with paired windows on each floor and a covered way linking the house to the dining hall. There is a 3-gabled block that is advanced beyond this, followed by a recessed bay with a narrow gable over a secondary entrance, and a wide gable to the right with paired windows on each floor.