Lydham Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lydham Hall |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | 18 Lydham Avenue, Rockdale, Bayside Council, New South Wales, Australia |
| Built | 1860 |
| Owner | Bayside Council |
| Official name: Lydham Hall; Lydham; Lydham Hill | |
| Type | State heritage (built) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 477 |
| Type | House |
| Category | Residential buildings (private) |
| Builders | Sven Bengtson (Swedish stonemason) |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
Lydham Hall is a special historic house in Rockdale, Australia. It was built around 1860 using local stone. This grand old home stands on the highest point of land between the Cooks River and Georges River.
The street where it is located, Lydham Avenue, used to be called Joseph Street. Its name was changed in 1917. Today, Lydham Hall is owned by the Bayside Council. It is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register, which means it is an important historical site. Now, Lydham Hall is a museum. You can visit it to see furniture and objects from the years 1860 to 1920.
Contents
Discovering Lydham Hall's Past
The land where Lydham Hall stands was once part of a huge property. This large estate, named Bexley, belonged to James Chandler in the 1820s. Over time, the land was divided and sold off in smaller pieces.
Joseph Davis: The First Owner
In 1860, a wealthy butcher named Joseph Davis bought a large section of this land. He used it to rest and feed his cattle before they were sold. Joseph Davis hired a Swedish stonemason, Sven Bengston, to build a house. He wanted the house on the highest spot to get amazing views of Botany Bay. Joseph Davis named his new home Lydham Hill.
Joseph Davis was born in England in 1827. He came to New South Wales in 1847. He first worked as a publican, then became a very successful butcher. He married Ellen Turner in 1850. His butchering business grew, and he became a well-known person in the area. He also helped local churches and supported the creation of a local school in 1887. This school is now known as Bexley Public School.
Changes to the Estate
For many years, the area around Lydham Hall stayed very rural. But as time passed, more land was divided and sold. New small villages started to appear. In 1882, Joseph Davis began selling off most of his land. He kept only about 8 acres around his home. This was possibly because the Illawarra railway line was built nearby in 1884. The new streets created from his land were named after his sons, Frederick and Herbert, and his grandson, Clarence.
After Joseph Davis passed away in 1889, his wife Ellen sold Lydham Hall. She sold it to Frederick Gibbins, a successful oyster merchant, in 1899. Ellen Davis then moved to Newtown. Frederick Gibbins rented out Lydham Hall to different people for several years.
The Stead Family at Lydham Hall
In 1907, Frederick Gibbins' daughter, Ada, married David George Stead. David Stead was a widower with a young daughter named Christina Stead. Ada and David moved into Lydham Hall without paying rent.
David Stead was a famous naturalist, someone who studies nature. He was born in 1877 and started working at age 12. He later studied zoology and became an expert in marine life. In 1902, he started working for the Director of Fisheries. David Stead was also a strong supporter of protecting nature. In 1909, he helped start the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia.
Christina Stead, David's daughter, was born in 1902. She became one of Australia's most important writers. Christina moved into Lydham Hall with her father and stepmother, Ada. During their ten years at Lydham Hall, the Stead family grew quickly. Ada gave birth to six more children. Young Christina loved to tell stories and poems to her younger brothers and sisters. Many of her novels were inspired by her childhood experiences at Lydham Hall. It is believed that her famous book, "The Man Who Loved Children," was based on this time. Christina was a very good student at Bexley Public School and later at St George Girls High School.
The Stead family's life at Lydham Hall depended on Ada's father, Frederick Gibbins. When he died in 1917, he did not leave clear instructions for the property. His will's executors decided to sell more of the land to cover costs. Because of this, the Steads had to move out. The part of the land with Lydham Hall was sold in 1922. Since then, the land around Lydham Hall has been divided even more.
Lydham Hall as a Museum
In 1970, the Rockdale Council bought Lydham Hall. They wanted to create a local museum inside its walls. Today, the museum has furniture on loan from the National Trust of Australia (NSW). It also has many objects given by people in the local community.
What Lydham Hall Looks Like
Lydham Hall was built after 1860 using stone from nearby quarries. It is a great example of an early country home. The house shows styles from the Georgian colonial period and the mid-Victorian era.
The house has four large rooms on the ground floor. Each room is about 14 by 20 feet. A wide hall, 10 feet across, runs through the middle. A narrow staircase leads to two rooms upstairs. These rooms are about 18.5 feet square and have windows that stick out from the roof. The windows facing north, east, and south are full-length. This was to let in cool sea breezes. The windows facing west are smaller to block the hot westerly winds.
A verandah once wrapped around all four sides of the house. It was supported by decorative cast iron columns. The house has a sloped roof covered with blue slates. There are small, decorated brackets under the narrow eaves. The two wide chimneys have an unusual design.
The kitchen, stables, and servants' quarters were originally separate buildings. They stood to the south-east of the main house. The kitchen was taken down in 1958 when more of the land was sold.
Why Lydham Hall is Important
Lydham Hall is a special family home built after 1860. It was made from local stone for Joseph Davis, a rich butcher. It is one of the few large homes built in Sydney during the time of the gold rushes.
It was also the home of David Stead, a world-famous expert on fish and nature. He even named the suburb of Banksia. Lydham Hall was also the childhood home of Christina Stead, a very important Australian writer.
| Article author: Olga Sedneva |
