The renovations used mainly local craftsmen and converted an 18th-century barn into a gallery, added a five-storey bartizan and a large wing.[1] Allan-Fraser was heavily indebted to the Arts and Crafts movement; this is evident in the design of the building, which features crenellated parapets, crow-stepped gables and oriel windows.[10] Allan-Fraser wanted to create an inspiring space for young artists, and the interior displays a large collection of Victorian sculpture, paintings, and wood-carvings which are of "international importance".These included John Phillip, Augustus Egg, William Powell Frith, Henry O'Neil, and Edward Matthew Ward.[15] A painting of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon by James Peter Quinn hung in Hospitalfield's gallery during the Second World War.