The main house of this farm property is a stone Gothic Revival work from the early career of the noted 19th-century architect Richard Upjohn.

[1] Oaklands Farm is a property of more than 100 acres (40 ha) which has been in the hands of the locally prominent Gardiner family (for whom the city is named) for centuries.

The Oaklands estate house was built in 1835–36 to a design by Richard Upjohn, then in the early stages of his illustrious career.

The house has a two-story main block with hip roof, and a three-story ell extending to its west.

It is built out of ashlar granite, and features a crenellated parapet around the roof edge, and a projecting bastion-like turret at one corner.