John Dickinson (1782–1869) was his own architect in the building of his family home, called Abbot's Hill, just east of his paper mills called Nash Mills. Construction was commenced in 1836. The building material was unusual, being dark grey stone setts, taken from the railway lines when replaced by wooden sleepers. The house design was unusual, having only a single door to the outside despite its size. John Dickinson's youngest daughter Harriet Ann (1823–1858) married Sir John Evans, K.C.B. (1823–1908) and their son Sir Arthur John Evans (1851–1941) inherited Abbott's Hill but never lived there. In 1912 it became a girls' school.

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The building can be seen in the photograph on the school's current website.