Glenleigh Estate facts for kids

Glenleigh Estate is a special old house located at 427 Mulgoa Road in Regentville, a suburb in western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by a famous architect named William Wilkinson Wardell and built between 1882 and 1884. Today, it is a privately owned home and is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register because of its historical importance.

History of Glenleigh Estate

The Ewan Family and Building 'Glenleigh'

James Ewan was born in 1843 near Edinburgh, Scotland. His family moved to Sydney in 1849. James later became a clerk in a successful wholesale grocery business owned by his brother-in-law, John Frazer. By 1869, at just 26 years old, James became a partner in the company, which was called Frazer and Co. This company became very large and successful, making James Ewan quite wealthy. He also became a director of other companies and was involved in many charities, like Sydney Hospital.

In 1881, James Ewan bought 99 acres (about 40 hectares) of land in Regentville, near Penrith. He asked the well-known architect W. W. Wardell to design his new home, which he named Glenleigh. James was not feeling well, and it's thought he moved to the Penrith area for the fresh air, as it was near the Blue Mountains. He had eight young children at the time.

Building the house started in May 1882 with a local builder, Mr. Willis. However, there were some disagreements about payment and changes to the design. So, in January 1883, another builder named John Buchanan took over. Buchanan often worked with Wardell. The house was finished in 1884, and the Ewan family moved in.

Glenleigh was designed in a Scottish farmhouse style. This was different from James Ewan's previous city home, which was in an Italian style. The Scottish style of Glenleigh showed off Ewan's Scottish background. The house was built using special white bricks, which James Ewan really liked.

Because Glenleigh was such a big house, the Ewans needed many staff members. Two female servants, a governess, and a maid lived in the main house. Four women and seven men lived in cottages on the property. These staff members helped with the dairy cows and horses. Marion Ewan, James's wife, also built a small home called Hope Cottage. It was a place for sick servants to recover. James Ewan also gave a lot of money to help start the Nepean Cottage Hospital, which is now the Nepean District Hospital.

James Ewan passed away in 1903. Even though he was generous, he was known for being quite private and focused on his business in Sydney. This meant the local community in Penrith didn't feel a strong connection to him. It was Marion who later became well-liked in the community through her charity work. She passed away in 1914.

Later Owners and Changes

Glenleigh was sold in 1917. For a while, it was rented out to an ostrich farmer! The house remained a private home until 1933. Then, it was bought by Charles Smith, who leased it to a church group. This group used the house to care for Aboriginal girls.

In 1940, an interesting Italian doctor named Charles Monticone bought the house. He lived there mostly by himself until 1979. A famous author, Shirley Hazzard, even wrote about him and Glenleigh in her novel "The Transit of Venus." She had stayed at Glenleigh as a schoolgirl during World War II.

In 1984, the estate was sold again. The new owners began the big job of restoring the house and its beautiful interior. A painter named William Whittlam spent three years carefully restoring the paint finishes inside. He removed old, bright orange paint and uncovered original patterns of butterflies and flowers on the walls. The ceilings were in good condition and featured amazing paintings. For example, in the music room, you can see famous composers like Mozart and Haydn. In the library, there are writers like Shakespeare and Milton. The dining room is especially unique, with dark green walls and gold decorations showing painted animals like hares, stags, and fish.

By 2017, the property was sold to Yundi Hua, who plans to continue restoring the estate.

William Wilkinson Wardell, Architect

William Wilkinson Wardell was born in London in 1823. He trained as an engineer and later became an architect. He was very interested in a style called Gothic Revival architecture. He designed many churches in London.

Wardell moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1858 because of his health. He became the chief architect for government buildings there. Later, he moved to Sydney in 1878 and started his own successful business. While he designed many churches and public buildings, homes like Glenleigh were a smaller part of his work.

What Does Glenleigh Estate Look Like?

Grounds and Estate

The Glenleigh Estate covers about 34.9 hectares (around 86 acres) of land. Water for the houses comes from underground wells and is filtered. Water for the gardens and paddocks is supplied by a system that waters the plants.

The estate is located in a very important spot, where the Mulgoa and Nepean Valleys meet. This means Glenleigh is a key landmark that can be seen from Mulgoa Road, the Western Freeway, and the railway.

Two driveways lead to the house. The main driveway from Mulgoa Road was originally lined with stone pines and Japanese black pines, some of which are still there.

A large garden surrounds the house, and parts of its original 19th-century design can still be seen. It has some special trees, including a large Queensland kauri pine and several Himalayan pines. Since the 1980s, new plants have been added, like a blue spruce and a golden cypress. There's also a formal garden with small conifer trees and a rose archway.

The House

Glenleigh is a two-story house built in a Scottish baronial style, which means it looks a bit like a castle or a grand country house. It has a simpler section for servants. The house is built from hard white bricks with red bricks used for details like window frames and decorative lines. It has a large wooden entrance porch and a two-story verandah on the east and south sides.

The inside of the house is very beautiful, with fine cedar wood details, marble fireplaces, and painted ceilings. The building is not perfectly symmetrical, which is typical of the Scottish farmhouse style. The front of the house has a bay window that goes up both floors, with a unique zigzag roofline. The roof of the house is made of slate tiles.

On the ground floor, a large entrance porch leads to a tiled hall. From there, you can find a formal sitting room, a reading room, a music room, a formal dining room, a kitchen, a family room, and bathrooms.

Two cedar staircases lead to the first floor. Upstairs, a wide hallway connects six bedrooms, another bathroom, a living room, and storage rooms. It also leads out to the suspended verandahs.

The living area is very spacious, about 653 square meters (7,029 square feet), with high ceilings. Some rooms have marble or tiled fireplaces with engraved brass. Many rooms still have their original plaster and painted wall and ceiling designs.

The beautiful interior decoration is thought to have been done by a company called Lyon, Cottier & Co. This company was known for its fashionable style, which was part of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Outbuildings

Around the main house, there are three other old buildings that are very well built and still in almost original condition. They are made of brick, timber, and slate. These include a coach house, stables, and a dairy. Like the main house, they are built with white bricks and red brick details.

• Stables: This is a two-story brick building with a slate roof and concrete floor. It's currently not used.
• Manager's Residence: This building is similar to the main house and has plaster walls.
• Caretaker's Cottage: This cottage has an outside covered with weatherboards and a metal roof.

There are also other structures nearby, like a garden shed for tools and a large machinery shed for equipment and vehicles. There's also a bird aviary.

Changes Over Time

• 1881: James Ewan bought the 99 acres of land.
• 1882-1884: The main house was built.
• Around this time: Cottages were built on the property for staff. Marion Ewan also built Hope Cottage, a special home for sick servants.
• 1917: The estate was sold and later rented to an ostrich farmer.
• 1933: Charles Smith bought the house and leased it to a church mission that housed Aboriginal girls.
• 1984: The estate was put up for auction. It was described as having 34.9 hectares of landscaped grounds, access to the Nepean River, and a private boat ramp. It included the main house and several other buildings like the stables, a manager's house, and a caretaker's cottage.
• 1984 onwards: The new owners began restoring and renovating the house's interior.
• 1992: A Victorian-style flower garden (called a parterre) was redesigned and replanted based on old photos.
• 2007: The stone pine trees along the driveway were replaced with the same type of trees. Two rare Wollemi pines were also planted, continuing the tradition of having different types of special trees on the estate.

Why Glenleigh Estate is Important

As of 2008, Glenleigh is considered very important for several reasons:

• Connection to Important People: It was the home of James Ewan, a very successful merchant and businessman in New South Wales. The Ewan family also helped start the Nepean Cottage Hospital.
• Beautiful Design and Art: The house's interior decoration is very special. It's a rare and well-preserved example of 1880s interior design, likely done by the famous company Lyon, Cottier & Co. This style was part of the Arts and Crafts Movement, which was popular among educated people at the time. The beautiful decoration was meant for the family to enjoy privately.
• Unique Architecture: Glenleigh is a rare example of a home designed by the famous architect W. W. Wardell. It's also unique because it's built in a Scottish farmhouse style, which was different from the Italian style many wealthy people chose for their homes back then.
• Rare Surviving Example: The interiors of Glenleigh are a rare and well-preserved example of the Arts and Crafts style. While other examples of Lyon, Cottier & Co.'s work exist, the extent of preservation at Glenleigh makes it stand out.

Glenleigh Estate was officially added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.