Rydal Proparatory School (Pwllycrochan)

The building, originally a house dating to circa 1821-1841, now has the appearance of a paired-gable building with an advanced embattled entrance tower. The original house forms the right-hand section. The facade is of roughcast render with stone dressings and slate roofs. A 4-centred arched doorway, likely dating to circa 1900, has swing doors and is positioned beneath an oriel window and a 2-light mullioned window with a hood mould in the upper storey, all below the tower's embattled parapet. The wider outer gables feature 3-light mullioned and transomed windows on the principal floors; the lower, floor-length windows are embellished with a quatrefoil frieze in the woodwork. The upper storeys of the outer gables contain 2-light mullioned and transomed windows. Inner gables have 2-light mullioned and transomed windows on each floor. A stone-coped gable and a rear wing parapet may be from the early 19th century, but were likely enlarged during the building’s use as a hotel. A dining room extension in the west-facing angle of the rear wing is confirmed as an addition of circa 1887, although its complex ground plan, along with the adjoining room, suggests multiple extensions. A canted plan section with an embattled stone parapet and cupola, topped with mullioned and transomed windows, rises from the rear wing. An angled canted bay window serves the dining room’s rear.

Between 1887 and 1889, substantial additions were made to the east side of the original building. These three-storey additions are asymmetrical, featuring a six-window range with an off-centre, canted tower. This tower has mullioned and transomed windows with leaded upper lights and drop-ended hood moulds, terminating in a machicolated parapet with a corbelled turret. To the tower’s right, a cantilevered angled bay window with a hipped roof and single window range adjoin the original structure. To the left of the tower, a two-window range displays a two-storey shallow bow window with an embattled parapet. An advanced gable extends beyond it, featuring paired sash windows with high-set transoms on each floor. A two-storey bay window wraps around the left-hand angle of this gable. Throughout the building, ground and first-floor windows feature drop-ended hood moulds, decorative leading, and painted glass in the upper lights, and a moulded string course serves as a cornice below the eaves.

A parallel rear range, linked to the main range, was originally part of the hotel outbuildings. The interior underwent extensive remodelling during its use as a hotel, with surviving fittings predominantly dating to circa 1890. The present library and dining room open off a main hall, featuring rich timber and glass screens. The dining room's interior is richly decorated, with coupled columns, a coffered ceiling, and a central lantern with painted glass panels. Notable original hotel interiors also include the gentlemen’s lavatories, which retain most of their original fittings, including richly tiled walls and a mosaic tiled floor.