Belmont Park – Grose Vale Road – North Richmond – NSW

Belmont Park – Grose Vale Road – North Richmond (live title: Richmond) – NSW

Morell & Kemp mansion for Philip Charley · Completed 1892 · Standing — St John of God Richmond Hospital

On Richmond Hill, where Archibald Bell’s earlier Belmont looked over the Hawkesbury, Broken Hill syndicate man Philip Charley pulled down the Newcomen house and raised an Italianate sandstone palace with watchtower and twin turrets. Beautiful Homes called him Capt. Philip Charley. The Hospitaller Order of St John of God still works inside those walls. Rare public tours; active mental-health hospital — write with privacy in mind.

At a glance

• Name: Belmont Park (also Belmont)
• Address: Grose Vale Road, North Richmond (Hawkesbury LEP cites 177–235 Grose Vale Road for St John of God / former Belmont Park mansion, garden, gatehouse and curtilage — verify current numbering before publish)
• Built: Completed 1892 (Heritage NSW / Yobarnie history extract). Soft alternate 1893 (Millstone)
• Architects: Morell & Kemp; builders Howie / Howie Bros
• Client: Philip (Phillip) Charley — BHP syndicate / director tradition; horse & cattle stud
• Earlier estate: Archibald Bell from c.1804/1810; Henry Newcomen from 1860 (d.1884)

 Belmont Park - Richmond - NSW













• Heritage: Hawkesbury LEP local item (St John of God Hospital / former Belmont Park — I412 in consolidation extracts). Related pastoral landscape context with SHR Yobarnie Keyline Farm (H01826, 8 Mar 2013) — different listing focus
• Fate: Standing — St John of God Richmond Hospital (psychiatric / mental health). Purchase by Order commonly dated 1952

Site & setting

Richmond Hill — Macquarie visited Mrs Bell at Belmont 1 Dec 1810. Prospect over Hawkesbury River and floodplain; Dharug Country (Deerubbin). Charley avenue of Canary Island date palms (~½ mile) and sandstone gatehouse (c.1910); octagonal conservatory / fernery on lower terrace (1910 / 1900 gazette notes). Bell family vault on site. Aboriginal Memorial Garden on the hill acknowledges violent 1795 conflict between Dharug people and colonial soldiers (Heritage NSW supporting material).

Timeline

• c.1804–1849 – Archibald Bell develops Belmont pastoral estate; first house (foundations remain).
• 1823 – Archibald Bell Jnr’s route west → Bells Line of Road.
• 1860 – Henry Newcomen purchases Belmont; builds family home later demolished for Charley mansion.
• 1889 / 1891 – Philip Charley acquires property (flag dual years); demolishes Newcomen house.
• 1892 – Foundation stone laid by Charley’s child Adeline (aged two — Millstone); mansion completed 1892 (Heritage) / 1893 (Millstone).
• c.1900–1910 – Fernery/aviary; gatehouse; palm avenue; conservatory; lavish entertainment (courtyard stage with window dropping into cellars).
• Depression / WWII – Wealth collapse; assurance society / army use traditions (Millstone); caretaker periods.
• 1952 – Hospitaller Order of St John of God purchases (~£15,000 in Millstone tradition); hospital established; long restoration.
• Today – St John of God Richmond Hospital; mansion retained within clinical campus.

Architecture & interiors

Sandstone Italianate / eclectic Victorian mansion dominated by central watchtower and flanking turrets; slate roof; Italian marble steps; mosaic porch tiles with cardinal points / “Belmont”; domed leadlight skylight; fifteen main rooms cited in heritage summaries; library maple bookcases; leadlight dining allegories (Diana, Flora, Ceres, Hebe — Millstone). Courtyard theatrical window into cellars. Later hospital wings at rear — front still reads as Charley’s palace (1983 Hawkesbury heritage survey tradition).

People & anecdotes

Philip Charley — young Broken Hill syndicate shareholder who kept enough interest to grow rich; Captain of Hawkesbury Squadron / NSW Lancers traditions; early Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost owner (Millstone / Irwin extracts). Stud and hospitality at Belmont Park.

Archibald Bell / Henry Newcomen — pastoral predecessors; Newcomen’s Warrego cattle runs and Belmont years recovered by Betty Upton (Millstone 2009).

Brothers of St John of God — purchase, clinical mission, restoration from original plans (Millstone tour with Brother Julian; Philip Charley IV recalled room uses).

Image gallery guidance

• Keep live Beautiful Homes plates — Capt. Philip Charley; Richmond; SLM/HHT credit.
• Gatehouse / palm avenue / conservatory historic and recent.
• Interior vestibule mosaics / skylight (hospital permission).
• Foundation stone (rare private-residence stone — Millstone).
• Macquarie / Bell era context maps — not to be confused with Charley fabric.

What stands today

Belmont Park mansion stands as part of St John of God Richmond Hospital, Grose Vale Road, North Richmond — active private hospital. Grounds and interiors are not a casual tourist walk-in; respect patient privacy. Historical societies occasionally arrange rare escorted tours. Local heritage listing covers mansion, garden, gatehouse and curtilage.

Sources & further reading

• Live scrapbook: https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2026/07/belmont-park-richmond-nsw.html
• Beautiful Homes plates — Sydney Living Museums / HHT
• Heritage NSW / Yobarnie Keyline Farm history extract (Belmont Park mansion paragraphs): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5061775
• Hawkesbury People & Places — Belmont Park: https://www.hawkesbury.org/name/belmont-park.html
• Kurrajong–Comleroy Historical Society, The Millstone Vol 7 Issue 2 (Mar–Apr 2009) — Belmont Park field trip
• Hawkesbury LEP Schedule 5 extracts — St John of God / former Belmont Park (I412)
• Colo Family History Group — From Heartache to Healing: The Story of Belmont (2017) cited on hawkesbury.org

Related on this blog

• Glentworth – Ashfield (Morell & Kemp attribution tradition)
• Our Beautiful Homes – Series 1
• Yaralla – Concord

Add historic photos with captions and credits from Image gallery guidance.