A Classic Georgian Manor - Mosman

Positioned In The Prestigious Balmoral Dress Circle, This Impeccably Reatored Georgia. colonial Manor Is Neatled On A Bast 2163sqm Landholding. Reminiscent Of The Sttely Rural Retreat, The Reaidence Is Set Amid Magnificent Heritage Hepunds Which Provide A Unique Level Of Peace And Seclusoon. 

5 Eastbourne Road, Darling Point.

Wednesday 9th Nobemver 2016

Historic Charm 

Beathtaking Views 

Built In The 1880's, This Freestanding Villa Presents A unique  Opportunity

Lectura - 24 Lang Road - Centennial Park

Lactura c1910. 1031sqm

265 Oxford Street- Town Homes

Without A Doubt One Of Paddingtons Finest Transformations, This Divine Turn Key Projecy Offers An Enviable Lifestyle. Hints Of Character, Intertwined With Contrmporary Chich Finishes Gives Thus Once In A. lifetime Town home A Truly Unique Aesetic. 

Reflecting Pure Quality, No Expense Has Been Spared Creating This Exclusive Sanctuary. 

Rona – 51 Fairfax Road (Ginahgulla Road gate) – Bellevue Hill – NSW

Rona – 51 Fairfax Road (Ginahgulla Road gate) – Bellevue Hill – NSW

Victorian Rustic Gothic Revival sandstone mansion · Built 1883 · Standing — private · RNE Place ID 2579 · Woollahra local heritage

Edward William Knox of Colonial Sugar Refining raised a gabled sandstone house on the Bellevue Hill crest and named it Rona. Gustavus Alphonse Morell gave it Victorian Rustic Gothic form — terracotta shingles, attic upper floor, harbour prospect — a cousin in spirit to Greycliffe at Vaucluse. Fire, flat conversion, and later private restorations changed the plan; the silhouette still reads as one of the ridge’s great Knox-era piles. This is a new scrapbook entry: no prior dedicated Rona post on the blog.

At a glance

• Address: 51 Fairfax Road, Bellevue Hill NSW 2023; also 6 Ginahgulla Road (gatehouse / Ginahgulla entry — Australian Heritage Database). Domain 2016 marketing used “2 Ginahgulla” (flag)
• Traditional Custodians: Gadigal / Cadigal Country (Bellevue Hill ridge)
• Built: 1883 for Edward William Knox (ADB; Dictionary of Sydney; AHD)
• Architect: Gustavus Alphonse Morell (G. A. Morell); Dictionary of Sydney also credits Morell and Kemp (flag partnership timing)
• Style: Victorian Rustic Gothic Revival / Neo-Gothic — Sydney sandstone, terracotta shingle roof; upper floor reads as attic storey (AHD)
• Model note: design tradition links to Greycliffe House, Vaucluse — childhood home of Mrs Knox (Edith, ne Willis) per Wikipedia (flag / cross-link Greycliffe)
• Fire & works: severely damaged 1905; restored with modifications by William Wardell Jnr (Wikipedia) / William Waddell jnr (Domain) — flag spelling
• 1951: John Mansfield removed large south centre gable → central courtyard and two apartments for Knox descendants (AHD; Wikipedia)
• Heritage: Register of the National Estate Place ID 2579 (21 Oct 1980); Woollahra LEP (Heritage NSW DB 2711104; LEP 1995 / LEP 2014 item)
• Estate: originally c.6 ha / 16 acres (Wikipedia); later reduced — Domain 2016 cited c.5,700 m²
• Fate: Standing — private residence; Knox family until late 20th century; reported sales 1989 $9.6m (John Schaeffer), 2005 (Terry & Kyril Agnew), Wikipedia asserts 2018 c.$58m (secondary — flag)

Site & setting

Bellevue Hill crest — panoramic harbour prospect cited on AHD as central to significance. Dual entries historically: Fairfax Road and Ginahgulla Road wrought-iron gates / gatehouse (Domain; AHD location line). Mature garden and state-significant trees noted in sale reporting; private — admire from public streets only.

Nearby Bellevue Hill scrapbook neighbours: Caerleon (Ginahgulla / Fairfax newspaper gentry), Ginahgulla / Fairfax House (Scots College — Victoria Road), Girrahween, Venetia / Bellevue. Do not confuse Rona’s Ginahgulla gate with Ginahgulla the Fairfax mansion.

Timeline

• 1 Apr 1847 – Edward William Knox born Sydney; CSR dynasty (ADB).
• 30 Jan 1878 – Marries Edith Willis at St Matthews, Manly (ADB).
• 1880 – Knox general manager of C.S.R. (ADB).
• 1883 – Rona completed; Knox commodore Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron 1883–84 (ADB).
• 1887–1902 – Knox Woollahra alderman (ADB).
• 1905 – House severely damaged by fire; Wardell/Waddell Jnr restoration (flag spelling).
• 26 Jun 1933 – E. W. Knox dies at Rona; buried Waverley after All Saints Woollahra service (ADB).
• 1951 – John Mansfield conversion: south centre gable removed; two flats around courtyard (AHD).
• Later 20th c. – Three generations of Knox descendants including Martha Rutledge line (Wikipedia — treat as secondary family note).
• 1989 – Reported sale $9.6m to art collector John Schaeffer (Domain).
• 2005 – Sold to Terry & Kyril Agnew (Domain).
• 2016 – Domain “Rona renaissance” marketing / renovation coverage.
• 2018 – Wikipedia asserts major sale c.$58m (flag / secondary).
• Today – Private heritage house; Woollahra local list + RNE archive record.

Architecture & interiors

AHD: substantial Victorian Neo-Gothic stone house with terracotta shingle roof; upper floor as attic storey; original joinery and several panelled ceilings retained at time of RNE description. 1951 Mansfield work removed original stair hall to form central courtyard and two large flats — later owners have re-roofed / re-enclosed the courtyard in glass (Wikipedia / Domain — flag adaptive phases rather than claiming untouched 1883 plan).

Prefer AHD / Heritage NSW / historic photographs over inventing plaster schedules or lost room names. Compare publicly to Greycliffe (Rustic Gothic sandstone marine villa) and Morell’s other eastern work (e.g. Swifts tradition on this blog).

People & anecdotes

Edward William Knox (18471933) CSR industrialist; shy, telephone-averse; yachtsman (Sirocco); Union Club; University Senate; gallery trustee; died at Rona (ADB — Martha Rutledge). Edith Knox (née Willis) — childhood Greycliffe link in secondary sources. Gustavus Alphonse Morell — civil engineer–architect; Swifts / theatre work in DoS architect cards. John Mansfield — 1951 flat conversion. Later private custodians (Schaeffer, Agnew, post-2018 owners) — restoration chapters; do not invent interiors from agent copy.

Image gallery guidance

1. Historic sandstone / terracotta-shingle elevation (SLNSW / Woollahra local history search). 2. Ginahgulla Road gatehouse & wrought-iron gates (public realm). 3. Fairfax Road entry / harbour prospect from street (no trespass). 4. Compare Greycliffe Rustic Gothic sandstone. 5. AHD / RNE era photos if distinct from modern marketing. 6. Trove / SMH — Knox obituary context; yacht Sirocco if illustrated.

What stands today

Rona stands as a private Woollahra heritage house. No routine public access. View façades, gates and garden edge from Fairfax Road / Ginahgulla Road footpaths without trespassing. Cross-link Bellevue Hill Fairfax–Knox ridge posts and Greycliffe.

Sources & further reading

• Heritage NSW — Rona - house (DB 2711104): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=2711104
• Australian Heritage Database — Rona, Place ID 2579: https://environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=2579
• ADB — Knox, Edward William (1847–1933): https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/knox-edward-william-6990
• Dictionary of Sydney — Rona (building): https://dictionaryofsydney.org/building/rona
• Domain — “Rona renaissance…,” 18 Oct 2016 (sale/ownership chronology — secondary)
• Wikipedia — Rona, Bellevue Hill (portal; verify against AHD / ADB / Heritage NSW)
• Trove — search: Rona Bellevue Hill; Edward William Knox Rona; “Rona” Fairfax Road fire 1905

Related on this blog

• Greycliffe, Vaucluse — Rustic Gothic model / Willis childhood tradition
• Caerleon, Bellevue Hill — Ginahgulla ridge neighbour
• Hordern / Ginahgulla–Fairfax House (Scots) — Victoria Road Fairfax pile
• Girrahween / Venetia–Bellevue — Bellevue Hill cluster
• Swifts, Darling Point — Morell circle

Keep existing photos; add SLNSW/Trove images with captions and credits from Image gallery guidance.

12 Ferdinand Street - Hunters Hill

Exuding An Elegance & Granduer Unmatched In Heritage Value Of Period Grace, This Breathtaking 1856 Sandstone Manor Is A Remarkable Rarity. One Of Hunters Hills Oldest Homes, The Residence Is Set On Approx1,037sqm. 

"Atherfield"- 1870 Gothic Revival Estate

 

Bulwarra - Hunter's Hill - New South Wales

This Estate Was Originally Built In 1877

Vaucluse - South Head - The Keepers Cottage

Unrivalled In Prestige, Setting Or Historical Significance. Built In 1881 As The Keepers Residence Adjacent To The 1818 Macquarie Lighthouse And Set On Over 2,600 sqm

"Boomerang" - Potts Point - New South Wales

"BOOMERANG"

"Swifts" - Darling Point - New South Wales

Swifts (The Swifts) – 68 Darling Point Road – Darling Point – NSW

Late-Victorian castellated Gothic Revival mansion · G.A. Morell c.1876–83 · Standing — private residence (Moran family from 1997) · SHR #00146

No Swifts post on the blog yet — surprising, given the Australian Heritage Council line that this may be “perhaps the grandest house remaining in Sydney.” Beer barons Tooth and Resch, three cardinals, a near-death in the 1980s–90s, then a decade-plus Clive Lucas restoration. This scrapbook follows the State Heritage Register and refuses to invent a garden designer’s signature when the CMP would not.

At a glance

• Address: 68 Darling Point Road, Darling Point NSW 2027 (also Thornton Street frontage); Woollahra
• Land: Crown grant path via Thomas Barker (1833) → Delamere Estate (Thomas Icely etc.) → Torrens title to Robert Lucas-Tooth December 1875 (SHR / DoS)
• Built: Foundations 18 March 1876; first red-brick house then Morell castellated stone rebuild c.1882 (construction span SHR 1876–1883)
• Architect: Gustavus Alphonse (G.A.) Morell
• Style: Victorian Gothic Revival / Castellated Gothic; sandstone; porte-cochère; crenellated north verandah; U-plan; ballroom larger than Government House’s (Tooth brief — SHR)
• Rooms: Officially often cited 42; later press/owner figures 52–56 — soft
• Heritage: NSW SHR #00146 (2 Apr 1999); former PCO 19 Apr 1984; National Trust; RNE Place ID 2577
• Fate / current use: Standing — private family residence after Moran purchase 1997 and major restoration (AIA Lachlan Macquarie Heritage Award 2012 to Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners)

Site & setting

Darling Point / Delamere allotments on the southern harbour shore — Gadigal Country. Originally about four acres of landscaped grounds with carriage drive to the porte-cochère, eastern/northern/western garden precincts, terracotta bed edging, Moreton Bay figs and rare trees (including Canary Islands Picconia excelsa noted on SHR). Subdivision trimmed edges; core house-and-garden relationship survived a 1983 heritage inquiry that treated grounds as integral (SHR).

Timeline

• 1833+ – Barker grant; Delamere Estate history (Icely; later owners; Mitchell mortgage 1869) (SHR / DoS).
• Dec 1875 – Robert Lucas-Tooth obtains Torrens title (SHR).
• 18 Mar 1876 – Foundations laid by Tooth’s daughter; simple two-storey red-brick house echoing Kent “Swifts” family home (SHR).
• 1880 – Name Swifts in rate assessment (SHR).
• c.1882 – Morell rebuilds in stone castellated Gothic “same style as Government House, but not quite so elaborate”; retain original porch → double porte-cochère logic; ballroom larger than Government House; Arts & Crafts interior fashion noted in secondary site histories (SHR).
• 1889 – Lucas-Tooth family to England; baronetcy 1906; three sons killed in WWI (SHR).
• 1893–97 – Henry Harris tenant (SHR).
• 1900 – Sold to brewer Edmund Resch; interior redecoration / services (SHR).
• 1923–29 – Edmund Resch dies 1923; sons hold title; auction; Edmund Resch Jr buys for £50,000 (Jan 1929) (SHR).
• To 1963 – Edmund Jr & Florence at Swifts; minor service alterations (SHR).
• 1963–64 – Bequest to Roman Catholic Church; title June 1964; subdivision (bungalow lot + mansion lot ~3 acres) (SHR).
• 1964+ – Ballroom → chapel-of-ease (~200 seats); residence for Cardinals Gilroy, Freeman, Clancy; papal visit stays noted in SHR (Paul VI / John Paul II) (SHR).
• Oct 1983 – Demolition covenant expires; Heritage Act inquiry; PCO 1984 (SHR).
• 1986 – Sold $9 million to Minjar Holdings / Carl Spies era; later debt, eviction, 1992 furniture auction (SHR).
• 1997 – Moran family purchase; long restoration under Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners; tornado damage mid-works 1998 (SHR / AA 2012).
• 2012 – AIA Lachlan Macquarie Heritage Award for restoration (SHR citations).
• Today – Private residence; State Heritage listed; occasional public discussion of events use (press — not SHR).

Architecture & interiors

Two-storey sandstone castellated mansion with three-storey tower; east porte-cochère flanked by projecting bays; crenellated sandstone-flagged north verandah; carved window valances and external timber shutters uncommon for the date (SHR). Planning in a U with full upper-class programme: drawing, morning, smoking, dining, study, billiard, ballroom, dressing rooms, silver safe, wine cellar, servants’ quarters; outbuildings dairy, laundry, stables, carriage house, tack room (SHR/Lucas).

Resch-era interiors and the rare Moorish smoking room are conservation highlights; Catholic chapel conversion of the ballroom was later reversed/restored in the Moran works (SHR / award citations). Male/female planning sides retained in restoration narrative (owner interview quoted in press; treat as modern testimony).

People & anecdotes

Robert Lucas-Tooth — Kent Brewery partner, Kameruka pastoralist, MLA, Bank of NSW / CSR director; brief to Morell: build around the old house, stone, Government House style, don’t fret a few hundred pounds, ballroom bigger than the Governor’s (SHR). Edmund Resch (sen. & jun.) — Waverley Brewery castellated industrial twin to this domestic castle. Cardinals Gilroy, Freeman, Clancy — ecclesiastical chapter that saved and then relinquished the house. Doug & Greta Moran / Shane Moran — restoration patrons; Greta’s Cooper/Juniper Hall descent noted in secondary profiles (cross-link Juniper Hall on this blog).

Gardener Alexander Grant (Edinburgh-trained) worked at Yaralla, then Rosemont, then Swifts — a human bridge between this draft and the Concord scrapbook (SHR).

Image gallery guidance

New post — search keys only.

1. East elevation / porte-cochère / tower

2. Ballroom (chapel era vs restored)

3. Moorish smoking room

4. Garden — figs, carriage drive, statuary

5. Cardinal-era / papal visit press photos

6. Pre-restoration dereliction vs 2012 award photography

Gallery

What stands today

Swifts stands as a private State Heritage mansion and garden. No general museum opening. Streetscape glimpses from Darling Point Road / Thornton Street; do not trespass. Pair with Babworth, Greenoaks/Bishopscourt, Lindesay, Retford Hall (lost), and Juniper Hall (Moran conservation story).

Sources & further reading

• NSW SHR — Swifts (#00146, DB 5045530): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5045530
• Dictionary of Sydney — Delamere Estate (includes Swifts summary): https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/delamere_estate
• Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners — Swifts Conservation Analysis (1994) cited on SHR
• Heritage Council of NSW — ‘Swifts, Darling Point’ (1984) inquiry context
• Architecture Australia — Lachlan Macquarie Award write-up (2012) cited on SHR
• Wikipedia — Swifts, Darling Point (verify against SHR)

Related on this blog

• Juniper Hall – Paddington
• Retford Hall – Darling Point
• Greenoaks – Darling Point
• Lindesay – Darling Point
• Yaralla – Concord (Alexander Grant link)

Goderich Lodge - Bayswater Road - Penny's Lane - Woolcott St - Darlinghurst - New South Wales

Goderich Lodge - Darlinghurst - NSW -

Bayswater Rd - Penny's Lane - Woolcott St

 DEMOLISHED

This Darlinghurst villa, was originally  designed by John Verge for the High Sheriff of NSW, Thomas Macquoid, & was situated near what is now the corner of Bayswater Road & Penny Lane, which is pretty much behind the Coca Cola Sign At Kings Cross

Born in Ireland, Macquoid came to Australia in 1829, following a period in Java, where he produced coffee crops for the East India Company, as well as a tenure as Sheriff of India.


The 1832 the mansion  was named Goderich Lodge, after Lord Goderich (Frederick John Robinson), the then Secretary of State for the colonies, who was also the British Prime Minister for a brief period. 


Macquoid arrived in Australia full of optimism for his new role in a new colony, but very soon had slunk into depression.


His first major issue was with his new job, which he believed did not have the appropriate status for such an important position. His office was also understaffed and overwhelmed with work. Litigation and bankruptcy proceedings were rife and there were over 700 summonses to be served.


To worsen things, Macquoid was also suffering financially after investing in a large farming property in the Tuggeranong Valley, near Canberra, which he named Waniassa. The country had been hit by drought, while the colony was also in financial collapse. 

Unable to cope, Macquoid committed suicide in October, 1841, leaving his son Thomas Hyam to deal with his mounting debts.

(Incidentally, Thomas Hyam was one of 121 people who died aboard the wreck of the clipper, Dunbar, which crashed into rocks at South Head, at the base of suicide-spot, The Gap, in 1857; his body was never recovered. The Dunbar's anchor was retrieved and is mounted at The Gap as a memorial.)

Goderich Lodge was sold at auction 2 months after Macquoid’s death & 
in the years that followed was rented by the First Bishop of Australia, Dr William Grant Broughton, whose wife died at the house in 1849. 

The next tenant was Surveyor General Samuel Augustus Perry, & then in the 1850s, Goderich Lodge was purchased by Frederick Tooth, of Tooth's Brewery fame, who later sold it to shipping merchant Captain Charles Smith. He died at  Lodge  from embolism in June 1897 & his wife Marjorie stayed on at the home until at least 1904 when her daughter, Marjorie, married.
By then, the original four-acre land grant had been subdivided & there were a number of properties on Macquoid's original estate. 

According to the book, Villas of Darlinghurst, Goderich Lodge, demolished in 1915, was located where the old Hampton Court Hotel sits today

The name of the old British PM still remains however, in the laneway that runs along the back of the old Hampton Court Hotel, Goderich Lane.

The Hampton Court Hotel, which has been pretty much dormant since the late 1990s has finally been refurbished into apartments, know as The Hampton.
And before you start complaining that all the old hotels in the area are being converted into apartments, the hotel actually began life as a 100-flat, apartment block, Hampton Court, after 1915. It was converted into a hotel in the late 1930s, following the death of its owner, motoring industry pioneer Albert Gordon Hampton.

This City of Sydney Archives photograph (above) was taken in 1910 from Bayswater Road, looking down Penny Lane before Hampton Court was built.

The Victorian-era terrace house to the left would have been built up alongside Goderich Lodge as the land was subdivided. Shame there are no photographs of the lodge, which was obviously further back somewhere.

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Empire - Syd - Sat 29 Oct 1864 Pg 7 

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Origianl Plan Of Land Grant Showing Goderich Lodge And Kellett House 

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ANYTHING LEFT OF THE GODERICH ESTATE -------- GONE BY 1909

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Brougham Lodge - Darlinghurst -

Brougham Lodge was built in 1831 for the second Chief Justice of NSW, Sir James Dowling, who took over the role after Francis Forbes was given long leave in September 1835. 

Sir Dowling was born in London in 1787 and studied at St Paul's School and worked as a parliamentary reporter before being called to the bar in 1815, at the age of 28. 

Thirteen years later, at 41, he decided that he wanted to make ''myself useful to the public'' and advance his ''private interests and welfare of my numerous family,'' and so applied to the Colonial Office for an appointment abroad. 

In February 1828 Sir Dowling arrived in Sydney aboard the Hooghly with his wife, Maria Sheen, and their six children. The couple had ten children but four died in infancy. Maria, his wife, died six years after their arrival in Australia and Sir Dowling then remarried Harriet Ritchie, the widowed daughter of John Blaxland (older brother of Blue Mountains settler Gregory Blaxland). The newlyweds made Kings Cross their home, living at one of the busiest junctions in the area, but I'll get to that later.

Sir Dowling initially came to Australia to act as puisne judge, or regular judge, but in 1835 he won the battle against Sir William Burton for the role of Chief Justice. He was also knighted in 1838.

Sir Dowling was a hard-working jurist, described by one colleague as having a ''painstaking and anxious industry rarely equalled'' who ''never failed to make himself its master in every detail'' of cases brought before him.

In 1829 he delivered the first sitting of the Supreme Court in the Hunter Valley (at the Union Inn) and also travelled to Norfolk Island for the same in 1833.

He worked so hard that in 1840, his daughter, Lady Dowling, despaired: ''Papa has for six days been at court until seven and eight o'clock in the evening. Yesterday he was there from 10am until three this morning.''

It seemed Sir Dowling was driven by a desire to build a good life for his children. 

His salary as a puisne judge was 1000 Pounds a year, which doubled when he became chief justice. 

Still, in 1828 he wrote to his patron, Lord Henry Brougham, in England, that ''Without parsimonious economy . . . I cannot keep out of debt . . . even with my frugal habits.

''I have been obliged to mortgage the little property I have scraped together to enable me to maintain and educate my children.''

But this dedication to his children and the role of Chief Justice would eventually take its toll. 

In 1840 he was advised by his doctor to take medical leave for three months and a year later Sir Dowling applied for 18 months leave in order to regain back his strength lost from ''13 years of incessant judicial labour, never once relaxed''.

But his seniors refused this leave until June 1844 when Sir Dowling collapsed on the bench. 

Sir Dowling eventually booked passage on a ship but before he could sail, he died on September 27, 1844, aged just 56.

Sir Dowling's home from 1831 to his death was Brougham Lodge, which was built at what is now the junction between Darlinghurst Road and Victoria Street in Kings Cross. He was granted over eight acres there in 1831. Brougham Lodge was initially designed by an unknown architect, but John Verge completed the designs.

The painting at the top of this post also shows the two windmills, known as the North Darlinghurst Mills, which featured on the Kings Cross landscape in the 1830s. There were also three other windmills on Darlinghurst Road - Clarkson's Mill and two wooden-post mills - as well as the Craigend Mill, all located along the ridge line and in the highest points of the neighbourhood so as to best catch the air currents. The mills were used as a source of renewable energy and to grind grain.

After Sir Dowling's death, the former chief justice's home was tenanted and also used as a boys's school. It was sold to developers in 1882 for 7000 Pounds and demolished soon after.

The Holiday Inn now marks the site of Brougham Lodge.

Grantham - Granthamville - Potts Point - New South Wales

“Grantham” “Granthamville”. “The Pepper Pot”

Macleay Street 

Built on five acres of land purchased by Felix Caleb Wilson in 1836.

Potts Point was originally named Point Campbell by Governor Arthur Phillip, during his survey in 1772, and was kept as a reserve for the Aboriginal peoples who were "allowed" to occupy the foreshore area - which they called Carragheen - "without molestation" for a number of years. 

But during Governor Darling's reign, this all changed when he decided to claim the land, which stretched from the headland back along Woolloomoloo Hill, for important government officials. 

The first of these grants was in 1822 when 11 acres were given to Judge John Wylde, the last Judge Advocate and a Justice of the NSW Supreme Court. 

But by 1828, Judge Wylde had done nothing with the land and Governor Darling was considering resuming it unless improvements were made. 

This issue probably informed his decision that year - when allotting the land that later formed Darlinghurst - to impose certain "villa conditions" to allotments, such as the size and grandeur of the home and the landscaping of the gardens.
Governor Darling didn't have to force the issue with Judge Wylde, who soon sold a substantial chunk of his allotment - just over six acres - to Joseph Hyde Potts. 

Potts didn't build on the land either, but he did rename the area Potts Point, ensuring he would be remembered to this day.
Felix Caleb Wilson, a settler in the Hawksbury region, north of Sydney, purchased the remaining five acres of Judge Wylde's allotment in 1836, and set about building the point's very first home, on the site where St Neot Avenue is today

Wilson's home was not subject to Governor Darling's strict "villa conditions", so the wealthy merchant and ironmonger went all-out in the design of his house, which he named Caleb Castle. You can see some of its turrets if you look closely in the photograph above.

According to the Villas book, the house later came to be known as Grantham and was designed by an unknown architect in the "same Gothic Revival style as the new Government House (1837-1845) across the bay". 

"Grantham was considered a rather pretentious building, and became known locally as 'The Pepper Pot' on account of its turrets, or 'Frying Pan Castle' (referring to Wilson's occupation)."

Wealthy merchant and wharf proprietor Frederick Parbury bought the the home in the early 1840s and renamed it Granthamville. Another owner was Donald Larnach who purchased the house and property for 5000 Pounds - a considerable increase on Wilson's 405 Pounds for the land alone.

The land was then subdivided and in 1853, the section with the home was purchased by surveyor and pastoralist Henry Dangar for 6000 Pounds and the residence became known as Dangar's Castle.

(Dangar was born at St Neot, in Cornwall, England, which is probably what the avenue was named for.)

After Dangar's death in 1861, his wife stayed on in the castle until she died in 1869 and it was inherited by one of their sons, Henry Cary Dangar.

Henry Dangar Junior rebuilt the home to his own design in 1870, following the Norman style of architecture.

According to a 1937 article from The Sydney Morning Herald, "the palatial home . . . was built of solid dimension stone quarried on the waterfront".

"Mr Dangar brought into his design the battlemented walls and the old fashioned stone fence. The entrance porch was tiled and led into a vestibule, in which a fine mahogany staircase was built with an overhead balustraded gallery.

"Upon the rebuilding of the home in 1870, Mr Dangar renamed the house Grantham."

Mr Dangar Junior stayed at Grantham until 1917, after which it had a succession of owners.

In the mid-1930s, the 22-bedroom, five bathroom house with cedar fittings was listed for sale and in 1937 was sold for demolition. A little bit of history vanished.

The new owner developed the site, building two blocks of three-storey flats over the original footprint of Grantham.

The only trace that remains is in the name of this apartment building (above), Grantham, and a little street and laneway that run behind St Neot Avenue.

The mansion Grantham (originally known as Granthamville and Dangar’s Castle) was pivotal in shaping the modern streetscape of Potts Point by directly dictating the physical layout, naming, and architectural character of the area following its demolition and subdivision in 1937

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The Newcastle Sun - Thursday 25th April 1918 Pg 4

HISTORIC HOUSE
Pott's Point Auction SYDNEY, Thursday
Grantham, an historic house at Pott's Point, which belonged to the Dangar family for 65 years, was offered at auction to-day, & was passed ln at £15,100. The place originally formed part of a grant of 11 acres in 1822 to John Wylde, judge advocate, who was afterwards knighted. The area started from where Woolloomooloo wharves now stand. Caleb Wilson, ironmonger, built the first house in 1835, but all that remains of it at the pre-sent time are tower & kitchen. It was jokingly called 'frying pan castle of Woolloomooloo.' Wilson paid only £405 for 4 1/2 acres. After his death, Donald Larnach paid £5000 for the house & 4 1/2 acres of land. He subdivided & resold part of it in 1853, to the late Henry Dangar for £4000.

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Sydney Morning Herald - Saturday 16 January 1937, page 18

HISTORIC HOME |
Sold for Demolition.
One of the old homes of Sydney, Grantham, In St, Neot-avenue, Potts Point, is to be demolished. Yesterday, the mansion was offered at auction by Richardson and Wrench, Ltd., for de-molition and removal, & was sold for £530.
After its removal, the grounds will be sub-divided & submitted at auction. Grantham was previously known as Granthamvllle and Dangar Castle. The site originally formed part of a grant of ,11 acres made In 1822 to the Judge Advocate, Mr John Wylde who later received a knighthood
The first house on the property was built about 1835 by Caleb Wilson, an ironmonger, & all that remains of the original building is the present tower & kitchen quarters Wilson's house was known as Caleb Castle but It was referred to jocularly as "Frying Pan Castle of Woolloomooloo "
Mr. F Parbury later owned it. & named It Granthamville He was one of the port's best-known wharf proprietors Parbury's wharves accommodated in their time many of the early wool ships which helped to develop the port of Sydney.
Whereas Caleb Wilson had paid £405 for 4½ acres of ground, Mr Donald Larnach, who later owned it, paid £5000 for the house & the 4½ acres This was later subdivided, & part was resold in 1853 to Mr. Henry Dangar for £6000. After his death in 1861, his widow occupied the house, & left it in her will to, Mr H C Dangar in 1869. He lived there until 1917 Since then the house has been owned bv several persons.
Mr. H C Dangar rebuilt the home to his own design, & followed the Norman style of architecture. The palatial home, as it was known to most people, was built of solid dimension stone quarried on the waterfront Mr Dangar brought into his design the battle-mented walls & the old-fashioned stone fence. The entrance porch was tiled & led Into a vestibule, in which a fine mahogany staircase was built with an overhead balus-traded gallery. Upon the rebuilding in 1870. Mr Dangar renamed the house Grantham.
Today, the house has cedar fittings throughout, and contains 22 bedrooms and five bathrooms.

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Sun Thursday 25 April 1918, page 4

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HISTORIC HOME IN MARKET
"GRANTHAM" FOR SALE
Grant of Nearly 100 Years Ago

The historic old house at Potts Point, "Granthnm," which has belonged to the Danger family for 65 years, was offored for sale at auction this morning by Messrs. Raine & Home. The place has a romantic history, having originally formed part of a grant of 11 acres to Mr. John Wyldc (Judge Advocate, who was afterwards knighted) in 1822. As the quaint old title deed describes it, the grant extended "from the projecting rook I
and to the other side of Port Jackson." This relic has now disappeared, & on the site the Woolloomooloo Bay wharves now stand. Caleb Wilson, an ironmonger, built the first house on this property In 1835 or thereabouts, the present tower & kitchen quarters being all that, remain of the original building. It was joldngly called "Frying Pan Castle of Woolloomooloo," & Wilson's initials are to be found carved on the inside of the old tower. Ho paid only £405 for 4'/a acres. After his death Mr. Donald. Lurnaoh paid £5000 for the houso & 4!/j acres, & he subdivided & resold part of it in 1853 to the late Mr. Henry Dangur for £6000. "After my grandfather's death in 1861,"
says Mr. Neville Dangar, "his widow occupied it, & she left it by her will to my father, Mr. II. C. 'Dangar, In 1869. He lived there until his death last year." As soon as Mr. H. C. Dangar got It he rebuilt it to his own dosign, & he chose the Norman style of architecture. At present the house is called "Grantham" —although formerly It was named "Granthamville"— & It Is to be seen in pictures of old Sydney as the only house on the point. Situated in charming grounds, & surrounded by an old-fashioned high, stone wall, the house with its battlomented walls presents a fine picture, reminiscent of an English home. The octagonal tower, with its flagstaff, is a picturesque note, & the view from the flat roof is all-embracing, including the harbor on one side & the city on the other. A drive enclosing a salvia-bedded lawn leads up to the tiled entrance porch, & inside the vestibule there is a fino wide ma-
"Grantham," Potts Point, the historic home of the Dangar family.
Mahogany staircase with no overhead balustrated gallery. The drawing & dining rooms are on opposite sides of the hall, & lead on to verandahs with verdant lawns beyond. The billiard room & library are in the rear, & upstairs many bedrooms disclose charming views from the windows. Altogether, counting in the servants' ball, there are about 25 rooms. Out of doors there is a lawn tennis court, & the garden lover can find much to interest him. In the distance is the kitchen garden, where origlnnlly most of the stone with which "Grantham" built was quurrled.