Sir George Oatley based his design for the new Hall of Residence both on the Strawberry Hill Gothic design of Downside House (the large house at the heart of the estate) and on the quadrangles of various colleges at Oxford University. Downside House — known to many as 'The Warden's House' — formed part of the east side of the new residential quadrangle (called either 'Old Quad' or 'Old Court') and inspired the architectural style known as 'Tudor Gothic'.

 

The proportions of the quadrangle were derived from Oatley's analysis of Oxford quads, incited by the then Vice-Chancellor's visits to Oxford to scout out architectural inspiration in 1924. The decision to structure the quadrangle in 'staircases' rather than corridors owes much to the Oxford model. Oatley was also responsible for the design of the entrance, the splendid dining hall and all the rooms beneath it — the JCR bar, the entrance hall, the offices, the post-room and what is now the Michael Wong-Pakshong Lounge (formerly Old Court Lounge). 

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The original designs for Old Quad included a pool at the centre, in imitation of certain Oxford and Cambridge college quadrangles, but the risk of student ‘dunkings’ led to the revision of these plans. The architectural drawings from the 1920s below include the possibility of housing a library on the ground floor of Downside House (in what eventually became the Warden’s sitting room and dining room), and student bedrooms on the first floor.

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Anyone who has spent time in Wills will have noticed the 'grotesques' (sometimes called gargoyles) on the outside of the dining hall. These were carved by Jean Hahn, from Kings Heath in Birmingham, and represent a variety of trades and professions. There is a book dedicated to these carvings by J. Arrowsmith (1950). 

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