Woolmers Estate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Woolmers Estate |
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The front entrance of the Woolmers main house.
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Address | Woolmers Lane, Longford TAS 7301 |
| Town or city | Longford, Tasmania |
| Country | Australia |
| Construction started | 1819 |
| Completed | 1843 |
| Owner | Woolmers Foundation Inc. |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | William Archer |
| Type: | Cultural |
| Criteria: | iv, vi |
| Designated: | 2010 (34th session) |
| Part of: | Australian Convict Sites |
| Reference #: | 1306 |
| State Party: |  Australia |
| Region: | Asia-Pacific |
Woolmers Estate is a farming estate located in Longford, Tasmania, founded in 1817 by prominent grazier and member of parliament Thomas Archer. It consists of an 82ha property, including a two-part manor house, coach house, the National Rose Garden, extensive outbuildings and convict cottages and formal gardens. The main house consists of a brick nog weatherboard homestead, built in 1819, with an attached extensive addition in Italiate style, designed by William Archer and built in 1842-1843.
One of the two main ancestral homes of the Archer family, Woolmers was World Heritage listed as part of the Australian Convict Sites together with Brickendon Estate in 2010. It is also listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register and the Australian National Heritage List since 2007.
Name
Like most Archer properties, Woolmers was named after an English location or building - Woolmer's Park, in Hertfordshire.
National Rose Garden
The Woolmers Estate features the National Rose Garden, which was begun in 1999 and fundraised by public donation. It has 460 varieties of rose, and over 5000 individual plants.
History
In 1812, Thomas Archer arrived in New South Wales on the ship Guilford, with a letter of introduction from Lord Liverpool acquired from the influence of his uncle, proprietor of the London Courier. He achieved success as a public servant, starting as a Clerk in the Sydney Commissariat before being appointed acting deputy assistant commissary in November of that year. He was transferred to Port Dalrymple (modern George Town) as clerk in charge, in 1813. He was made magistrate in 1814 and coroner of Cornwall County in 1816. He married his wife Susan Hortle the same year. Various other promotions followed but he retired in 1821 to focus on his farm. In 1817, he had been granted 800 acres, which formed the core of his Woolmers Estate. By 1819, the very first part of modern Woolmers - the weatherboard section of the main house - was under construction, using wood logged on the property.
