“Goendower” - Ryde

“Goendower” – Ryde

[Note: City of Ryde records this house as Glendower; the title has been left as it is.]

At a glance

• Location: corner of Constitution Road and Belmore Street, Meadowbank (Ryde)
• Built: c.1890 by Benjamin Charles Martyn
• Owners: from 1907 the Lackersteen family, “of jam and condiment fame”; part of the land was resumed in 1947 and 1959 for Meadowbank Public School
• Last occupants: Cecil Octavious and Mabel Lackersteen, who died within seven months of each other in 1962
• Fate: demolished c.1964 for a Hoover spare-parts factory; Ryde Council bought the factory in 1999/2000 and it became the council’s Operations Centre

Sources

• City of Ryde – Demolished Houses of the Parramatta River (Glendower)

“Lauriston” - Ryde

 “Lauriston”  Bowden Street & Victoria Road - Ryde - New South Wales  

“Lauriston” was built in the 1880’s  by James Johnson And Phillipina Shuttleworth and was located on the corner of Bowden Street And Victoria Road, Ryde. 

James, an Architect, was related to Albert Bond, the Architect Of Choice for Anthony Horderns. 

The interior was ornately decorated and it had a ballroom reputed to be, the most beautiful around Sydney. 

James turned the grounds into a bird sanctuary. In 1916 the property was subdivided and “Lauriston” was sold to Alfred and Jane Gorrie. Their Daughter Irex, a Dancing [Note: the post breaks off here. City of Ryde continues: Irex, a dancing teacher, conducted lessons in the ballroom “with a special class for married folk”. The house fell into disrepair after World War II when it was turned into flats, and was demolished in 1959; a motel now stands on the site.] 

At a glance

• Location: corner of Bowden Street and Victoria Road, (West) Ryde
• Built: 1880s for James Johnson (architect) and Philippina Shuttleworth
• Features: ornately decorated interiors; a ballroom “reputed to be the most beautiful around Sydney”; grounds made a bird sanctuary
• Later: subdivided 1916 and sold to Alfred and Jane Gorrie; their daughter Irex ran dancing classes in the ballroom; flats after World War II
• Fate: demolished 1959; site now the Metro Motor Inn

Sources

• City of Ryde – Demolished Houses of the Parramatta River
• City of Ryde – 150 Years: Places

More on Lauriston

Merged from the 2024 post “Lauriston – Corner Bowden Street & Victoria Road – Ryde – NSW”.

• Traditional Custodians: Wallumedegal / Wallumattagal people of the Eora Nation (Ryde area).
• 1930: a photograph of the Victoria Road / Bowden Street intersection, taken during tram-track works, shows Lauriston on the right (Ryde Library, City of Ryde “Progress” page).
• On the demolition in 1959 the Sydney Morning Herald wrote: “every week brings news of the dismantling of another gracious old Sydney home. One more to fall beneath the wrecker’s sledgehammer is Lauriston.” The Leader added: “its gracious day is nearly over.” A Shuttleworth daughter recalled: “I remember the years when it was cool, shady, graceful, lovely. Its ballroom was a joy…” (quoted by City of Ryde).
• Not to be confused with the different Lauriston still standing at 49 The Boulevarde, Strathfield (now part of Santa Sabina / Santa Maria del Monte).

Further sources

• City of Ryde – Demolished Houses of the Parramatta River: https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Library/Local-and-Family-History/Historic-Ryde/Historic-Buildings/Demolished-Houses-of-the-Parramatta-River
• City of Ryde – 150 Years: Progress (1930 intersection photo): https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Library/Local-and-Family-History/150-Years-of-the-City-of-Ryde/Progress

“Cleves” - Charles Blaxland - Putney

  “Cleves” - Putney - New South Wales 

“Cleves” was built In the 1850’s by Charles Blaxland and his wife Elizabeth. It was located in the wedge between Charles Street & Waterview Street, Putney. A house by the same name built by John Bayley [Note: John Bayley Darvall, per City of Ryde and the Dictionary of Sydney] had existed on the site previously. 

In 1917 the estate was sold to the Inter Colonial Building Company and the area around the house became the site  of the Kidman and Mayoh Shipbuilding Enterprise, the house being occupied by the new manager [Note: City of Ryde says “the mill manager”]. The house was demolished in 1926 [Note: City of Ryde gives c.1926]. The site is currently occupied by housing 

At a glance

• Location: the wedge between Charles Street and Waterview Street, Putney (Kissing Point), on the Parramatta River
• Built: 1850s for Charles Blaxland (1810–1888) and his wife Elizabeth; an earlier house named Cleves was built by John Bayley Darvall, owner 1848–52 (Dictionary of Sydney gives Blaxland’s ownership as 1852–88)
• Later: 1917 sold to the Inter Colonial Building Company; Kidman & Mayoh leased part of the estate for their World War I shipyard
• Fate: demolished c.1926; the site is now housing

Sources

• City of Ryde – Demolished Houses of the Parramatta River
• City of Ryde – Kidman and Mayoh Shipyard
• Dictionary of Sydney – Cleves
• Ryde History Hub – Cleves

Helenie - Meadowbank

Helenie – Meadowbank

At a glance

• Location: near the end of Bowden Street, beside the Parramatta River, Meadowbank (east of today’s Meadowbank station)
• Built: early 1840s for Isaac and Ann Shepherd on the 95-acre Helenie Estate (originally part of William Kent’s 1799 grant)
• Style: two-storey sandstone house
• Later: 1846 briefly a classical academy run by J. J. Davies; rented in the 1850s by Henry Parkes; from 1890 the estate was bought by Mellor Brothers for the Meadowbank Manufacturing Company, whose first manager, Walter Charles Barton, lived at Helenie
• Fate: described in 1938 as dilapidated and ant-infested; demolished 1939. The site became the TEI (later Siemens Plessey) factory and is now medium-density housing

Sources

• City of Ryde – Demolished Houses of the Parramatta River
• Dictionary of Sydney – Helenie
• Dictionary of Sydney – Meadowbank