Brislington is a heritage-listed former residence, inn, doctor's surgery, nurses' home and now museum at 10 George Street,

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. It was built from 1819 to 1821 by John Hodge. Incorporated into the former Parramatta District Hospital for many years, it now serves as the Brislington Medical and Nursing Museum. The property is owned by the New South Wales Department of Health. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

Brislington was built in 1819-21 for emancipist trader and publican, John Hodges, and probably used as the "Anchor & Hope" Inn. It was later occupied by Sir

George Wigram Allen Sir George Wigram Allen (16 May 1824 – 23 July 1885) was an Australian politician and philanthropist. He was Speaker (politics), Speaker in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1875–1883. Allen was held in high esteem. As speaker he sho ...

from 1840s to 1857. Local history claims that Hodges won a thousand pounds in a card game at the nearby Woolpack Inn - the 8 of diamonds being his winning card It is believed that to commemorate his luck, he had the convict bricklayers work the diamond pattern into the back wall of the building. Then set on an acre and a quarter of ground, the building was "large and commodious", with four rooms on each floor, a variety of outhouses consisting of kitchen and pantry, a large cellar, two servants' bedrooms, a four stall stable and a coach house and possessing one of the first wells in Parramatta town. Hodges was found guilty of stealing a large stone from the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Quarry to build his kitchen fireplace, his conviction leading to the forced sale advertisement in the

Sydney Gazette ''The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser'' was the first newspaper printed in Australia, running from 5 March 1803 until 20 October 1842. It was a semi-official publication of the government of New South Wales, authorised by Governo ...

on 14 April 1825. In 1857 the title passed to Dr Walter Brown, the first of three generations of Doctors Brown, establishing a long association with the medical profession. Brown named the house Brislington after his home town in Bristol, England, commencing 95 years and three generations of the family's practise of medicine on this site (until 1952). Walter Brown died in 1896, his wife Sigismunda in 1903, both being buried in St. John's cemetery, Parramatta. The

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

fig tree (

Ficus rubiginosa ''Ficus rubiginosa'', the rusty fig or Port Jackson fig (''damun'' in the Dharug language), is a species of flowering plant native to eastern Australia in the genus ''Ficus''. Beginning as a seedling that grows on other plants ( hemiepiphyte) o ...

) at the front gate was already large in 1857 when Brown bought the property. From 1949, it became a part of Parramatta Hospital and was used as a nurses' home. In the 1970s, it was proposed to demolish Brislington, as it was no longer needed for accommodation with the changing role of Parramatta Hospital and opening of

Westmead Hospital Westmead Hospital is a major teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. Opened on 10 November 1978, the 975-bed hospital forms part of the Western Sydney Local Health District, and is a teaching hospital of Sydney Medical School at the University of ...

meaning that Parramatta ceased to provide acute surgical care. The demolition proposal was not proceeded with. In 1983, both Parramatta and Westmead Hospitals established an Archives Committee to preserve their history, and began operating Brislington as a nursing/hospital museum, housing a medical and nursing display for public viewing.Parramatta Hospitals Archive Committee, 1983

Description

Brislington is a large two storey Old Colonial Georgian free standing house in red brick, laid in

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

, built between 1819 and 1821. The ground floor verandahs are a later addition. The roof, now slated, is hipped. The front garden, screened by a large Port Jackson Fig Tree, provides an appropriate setting. The verandah and entrance

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

has brick

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

bases with timber

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

and bracketing with a slate roof. A small (remnant) garden survives, with large pre 1857 Port Jackson fig (

) on George Street, jelly palm (

Butia capitata ''Butia capitata'', is known as Cocus Capitata and also known as jelly palm, is a ''Butia'' Arecaceae, palm native to the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás in Brazil. It is known locally as ''coquinho-azedo'' or ''butiá'' in (northern) Minas Ger ...

) near the south-western corner of the house, and more recent cottage plantings in beds edging lawn. The cellar entry is on the rear of eastern (north–south axis) wing of house. The garden contains two

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

tablets both relocated from the former "Cottage Hospital" designed by

John Sulman Sir John Sulman (29 August 1849 – 18 August 1934) was an Australian architect. Born in Greenwich, England, he emigrated to Sydney in 1885. From 1921 to 1924 he was chairman of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee and influenced the develo ...

, of Sulman & Power Architects,

New South Wales Government Architect The New South Wales Government Architect, an appointed officer of the Government of New South Wales, serves as the General Manager of the Government Architect's Office (GAO), a multi-disciplinary consultancy operating on commercial principles ...

. One stone tablet dates from 1 May 1901, commemorating The Hon.

John See Sir John See (14 October 1844 – 31 January 1907) was a member of the New South Wales Legislature from 26 November 1880 to 15 June 1901, and was then Premier of New South Wales from 1901 to 1904. See was a self-made man of strong char ...

, NSW Premier's opening of a wing of the hospital. The other stone tablet dates from 4 June 1896, commemorating

Viscount Hampden Viscount Hampden is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of Great Britain when the diplomat and politician Robert Hampden, ...

, State Governor's opening the cottage hospital.

Modifications and dates

Built 1819-21 and set on an acre and a quarter of ground ground floor verandahs added, with stumpy brick

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

posts, twin timber posts, heavy timber

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...

, and gabled entrance

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

. Two storey eastern bay is another addition. Some internal alterations made. 1930s?/40s? Front verandah added to (southern elevation) house, facing George Street. 1949 resumed by Parramatta District Hospital for health related uses (nursing home from 1949). 1970s?/redevelopment of the adjacent Parramatta District Hospital with a new Accident & Emergency wing directly north of Hambledon, three stories tall. 1982 restoration by Parramatta Hospitals, Parramatta City Council and NSW Heritage Council involved demolition of two rear wings (one two storey to the east, one one storey to the west) on the recommendation of National Trust.

Heritage listing

Brislington is the oldest extant example of the archetypal early colonial two-storey townhouse privately built in mainland Australia. It has been associated with the medical profession since 1851 having been a doctors residence and practice and associations with the Parramatta District Hospital. This represents an extensive relationship with the community of Parramatta over an unparalleled period of time. Association with notable people. Evidence of the major role of colonial and state government in Parramatta. Site possesses potential to contribute to an understanding early urban development in Parramatta. Contains one of the first five wells dug (by colonists) in Australia, one of originally three on the property.Parramatta Hospitals Archives Committee, 1983 The Port Jackson fig tree (Ficus rubiginosa) which predates 1857, still growing in the remnant front garden is probably the oldest tree on the Parramatta Hospital site. Its geographic location relates directly to the formal symmetry of the house's façade. Brislington was listed on the

on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. Brislington is the oldest extant domestic structure within the town of Parramatta being built in 1821. It is a building of the Macquarie period. The site's incorporation of a well, known as one of the first to be sunk in Parramatta and an extremely rare extant example of a house and well in an urban setting.Conservation Analysis and Draft Conservation Guidelines, Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners 1991 The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history. The association of the building with John Hodges, an early "character" of New South Wales, providing a link with the early colonial township of Parramatta. The association of the building and site with the Brown family, from whom the name "Brislington" is derived and who occupied the home as a residence for over ninety years. The association with of the building with nineteenth century identities such as George Wigram Allen and Alfred George Lloyd. The site has been associated with the Parramatta District Hospital since c.1850.Conservation Analysis and Draft Conservation Guidelines, CLive Lucas Stapleton & Partners 1991 The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The building retains elements of its original fabric including sash windows, doors, fanlight, elements of the stair, cellar details and chimneys. The building substantially retains its exterior fabric. The date of the building makes the bricks and flagstones extremely rare especially in a in-situ domestic urban setting. The building incorporates an unusual decorative feature on its north-east exterior wall in the form of burnt bricks in a diamond design. The original design of the building incorporates the unusual feature (in early colonial buildings) of two fronts. The building possesses an Edwardian period front verandah, albeit reduced, and entrance door. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The site has been continuously occupied since the earliest days of European occupation in Australia. Thesite can potentially hold information pertaining to his period. The site has had the present dwelling on it since 1821. The iste therefore may have archaeological potential in revealing aspects about earlier configurations of the house and land and aspects of the garden. The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. This item is rare. It is the oldest existing building in Parramatta.

References

Bibliography

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Attribution

External links

{{Authority control New South Wales State Heritage Register Houses in Parramatta Old Colonial Georgian architecture in Australia Museums in Sydney Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register 1821 establishments in Australia Houses completed in 1821 Heritage-listed hospital buildings in Australia