Holly Lea and Plough Inn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Holly Lea and Plough Inn |
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Heritage boundaries
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| Location | Holly Lea Road, Leumeah, City of Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia |
| Built | 1816– |
| Official name: Holly Lea & Plough Inn; Plough Inn; 'Three Brothers' (inn); 'The Travellers' Home' (inn); Borobine House; Hollylea; William Ray's Cottage Inn Coolroom | |
| Type | State heritage (complex / group) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 343 |
| Type | Inn/Tavern |
| Category | Commercial |
| Builders | William Ray |
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Holly Lea and Plough Inn is a special historical place in Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia. It includes an old house, a former inn (like an old hotel), and a storage shed. These buildings were first built around 1816 by a man named William Ray.
This site is also known by several other names, such as Plough Inn, Three Brothers, The Travellers' Home, Borobine House, and Hollylea. Today, the property is privately owned. It was officially recognized as a heritage site on 2 April 1999, meaning it is protected for its historical importance.
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History of Holly Lea and Plough Inn
The Airds Area
Long ago, the entire area around Campbelltown was known as Airds. In 1810, Governor Macquarie visited and decided to create a new district there. He named it Airds to honor his wife Elizabeth's family estate in Scotland.
The name Airds was used a lot at first. But as new villages grew, the broader name became less common. It was used again in 1975 when a new housing area was built and named Airds.
The Plough Inn
The Plough Inn was built around 1816. It was on a 60-acre piece of land bought by William Ray. William Ray arrived in Sydney in 1791. He married Sarah M Harrigan and they had three children.
Records show that William Ray was running the Plough Inn as early as 1821. His family believed his daughter Maria was born in a sandstone cottage on the site in 1822.
Ray built the inn between 1816 and 1821. He sold it in February 1826 to Nathaniel Boon. Nathaniel Boon had arrived in Sydney in 1811. He was living in Airds by 1828. William Ray passed away in 1835 and was buried in St. Peter's Cemetery in Campbelltown.
Holly Lea Residence
In 1829, Nathaniel Boon took out a loan on the property. People believe this money was used to build the two-story brick house we see today, known as Holly Lea.
Nathaniel Boon married Sarah Wade in 1831. Around 1830, he built "Holly Lea." At the same time, he was also running the inn, which he called "The Three Brothers." He kept this license until at least 1835. Nathaniel Boon passed away in 1839.
On Christmas Day in 1845, William Ray Jr. (one of William Ray's sons) leased the Plough Inn and Holly Lea from Nathaniel Boon's widow, Sarah. In 1857, William Ray Jr. was listed as running "The Travellers' Home" at the inn. By 1869, he had financial problems.
That same year, John Jenkins bought the property. John Jenkins had married Sarah's daughter, Maria Ray. So, the property stayed within the family through marriage.
By 1884, the site was called "Borobine House." A new owner, John Davies, bought it. Davies renamed it "Holly Lea" and lived there until he passed away in 1896. Sarah Boon passed away in 1887 at 93 years old.
Around 1900, the site was used as a private boarding school. By 1914, it became a private home again.
In 1922, Arthur Payten owned the site and used it as a farm. His widow lived there until 1957. Then, Mervyn Whitten bought the property. The buildings were in poor condition at that time. After 1957, Mr. and Mrs. Whitten and their family worked hard to repair and renovate the property. They painted, laid concrete floors, installed new ceilings, and rebuilt chimneys. They continued to run it as a dairy farm until the late 1960s. Most of the land was then taken by the Campbelltown City Council for industrial use.
Since then, Mr. and Mrs. Whitten have used the buildings and a small part of the land as their private home. In recent years, the buildings were recognized by the National Trust of Australia and the Heritage Council of NSW. The property was put up for sale around 1980.
The owner before the current one, Alwyn Hutchinson, used the property for storage. Before he bought it around 1990, it was used for "casual retail" activities.
What the Buildings Look Like
Around 1980, there were six buildings on the site. Only three of them are considered historically important by the National Trust of Australia. The other three are a timber garage, a fernery, and a corrugated iron farm shed. These were built later by Mr. Whitten and are not considered historical.
The three important buildings are:
The Plough Inn (around 1816)
The Plough Inn is a single-story building with three rooms. It was built around 1816. Its outer walls are made of sandstone and are about 450mm thick. One inside wall is also sandstone, and another is made of sandstock bricks.
The floors are paved with cement. It has two fireplaces and chimneys on the northern side. All the walls are painted. The roof is made of corrugated iron sheets.
The original roof was made of trimmed tree poles covered with she-oak shingles. Now, it has corrugated iron over them. The roof timbers seem to be original.
The ceiling is made of canvas on a timber frame. Both the ceiling and walls were once whitewashed. When Mr. Whitten bought the building, a corner and one chimney had fallen down. These were rebuilt.
This building is used as a storage room, workshop, and family entertainment area. It was in excellent condition around 1980. Some of the sandstone on the south wall shows signs of wear, likely from dampness.
Holly Lea (around 1830)
Holly Lea is a two-story house made of sandstock bricks. It was built as the main living area for the inn. It has a verandah and balcony facing the main road. At the back, there is a skillion-roofed area. The two-story part has four rooms with a central hall and staircase. The back part has five rooms, including a kitchen, dining room, bathroom, sunroom, and toilet. Mr. Whitten created this arrangement by enclosing a verandah and making it part of the house. The first floor is used for bedrooms.
A photograph from 1914 shows the building looking much as it does now. It had cast iron balcony posts and decorative railings. It is thought that John Davies gave the building its Victorian look.
The roof has she-oak shingles under corrugated iron. The floors are timber, now covered with carpet. The concrete floors at the back are tiled. Because the house was in such bad shape when bought, Mr. Whitten rebuilt the ground floors. He replaced the old ceilings with new ones and remade some of the ground floor doors and part of the staircase to match the original style. He also rebuilt the verandah and balcony. While the cast iron posts are original, the decorative ironwork has been replaced with cast aluminum that looks similar. The verandah is now paved with cement, and the outside walls have a rough finish.
Inside, some plaster walls show signs of dampness, but overall, the building is in very good condition. The front door has six panels with a rectangular window above it. Inside doors have four panels. The windows are double-hung sash style. There are also French windows that open onto the balcony. The building has been used as a private home for about 26 years.
Farm Shed (before 1880)
This is a small building made of sandstock brick. It has a she-oak shingle roof covered with corrugated iron. It has a single wooden door made of vertical boards. The floor is partly brick, and it does not have a ceiling. It is in fair condition. Its exact age is not known, but based on its materials, it was likely built before 1880.
Old records and photos show that a ballroom was once built between the inn and the main road. There were also several timber outbuildings at the back. These buildings have all disappeared over time.
Changes Over Time
- Around 1957: Major changes were made, including concrete floors in each room and new plywood and hessian ceilings. The inn's roof already had corrugated iron by this time.
- A photo from around 1979 shows unpainted outer walls. There might have been traces of paint or lime mortar.
- Around 1980: The outside walls were painted as part of the site's development. At that time, the area around the inn also had big landscaping changes. The current setup, where each building is treated as a separate "unit" under the property's ownership, began around 1980.
Heritage Listing
Holly Lea and Plough Inn was officially listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. This means it is recognized and protected as an important historical site.
