HISTORICAL ANALYSIS
CLIFTON VILLA
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I HISTORICAL ANALYSIS I I CLIFTON VILLA I I 73 BALLAST POINT ROAD BALMAIN I I I I I I I I I I I March 2003 I Cultural Resources Management I I I I I CONTENTS OF THE REPORT I
I 1.0 PRECIS OF THE REPORT 01 Location Plan 02 I 2.0 INTRODUCTION 03 2.1 THE SiTE 03 2.2 THE WORK 03 I 2.3 METHODOLOGY AND TASKS 03 2.4 AUTHORSHIP, CLIENT AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 03
3.0 HISTORICAL ANALYSIS 04 I 3.1 THE PRE-SETTLEMENT ENViRONMENT 05 3.2 GILCHRIST PLACE 06 Early Land Grants 1788-1828 07 I 3.3 SMITH'S SUBDIVISION 08 Plan of the Balmain Estate 1852 09 3.4 GEORGE ELSWORTHY: BUILDING CLlFTON VILLA 10 I 3.5 A GIRL'S SCHOOL 12 Site survey 1887 3.6 RESIDENTIAL YEARS 13 I Site survey 1889 Site survey 1907 Site survey 1927 I Site survey c.1930s-40s 3.7 Chiron College 15 Plan of classrooms 3.8 A HOME AGAIN 16 I Plan of gates 1978 Plans of works to bUildings 1987 Preliminary drawings of works 1987 I Interior fittings 1987
4.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY 17 I 4.1 BOOKS AND REPORTS 17 4.2 MONOGRAPHS AND MISCELLANY 17 4.3 NEWS ARTICLES 17 I 4.4 PROPERTY RECORDS 17 4.5 MAPS AND PLANS 18 I I I I I -I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain I SECTION 1.0 PRECIS OF THE REPORT I I This report was prepared to identify the historical development of "Clifton Villa" a mid nineteenth century house on Ballast Point Road in Balmain. The house is poorly I documented in primary sources. Despite this relatively small resource of contemporary documentation the following sequence may be determined:
I • The site was part of the original grant of 550 acres made to Surgeon William Balmain in 1800.
I • This portion of that estate was subdivided in 1852.
• The Clifton Villa land and its environs to the bay were sold in April 1853 to I Charles Smith and Didier Jubert. Jubert sold his rights to Smith.
• In October 1853 lots 40 and 42 of Section 31 (the present-day Clifton Villa I land) and two more lots to the south were sold to Rose Adcock. I • In May 1857 Miss Adcock sold lots 40 and 42 to George Elsworthy, a tailor. • Elsworthy took out mortgages in 1857, 1858 and 1859. It seems most likely that the first and possibly the later mortgages were intended to construct and I complete the house and other improvements to the property. • It is unclear if Elsworthy lived in the house for any length of time although he retained ownership until his death in 1878. Certainly by 1871 he had rented the I house to John Manning, a steam-boat proprietor.
• Even though he did not live there at the time Elsworthy appears to have funded I the extension of the house to the south with the construction of the ball-room in the mid-1870s. In doing so he grafted the building on to what is likely to have I been the original sandstone kitchen behind. • By the mid-1880s and possibly before a similar sandstone out-building to the kitchen on the north-western corner of the house had also been extended with I a wooden structure possibly as part of a stables and coach-house. A large timber building had been built in front of this structure by this date.
I • After Elsworthy died his son inherited the house and continued to lease it until its sale in 1881. I • From 1879 Mrs Helen Chilcott used the house as a private boarding school for girls. This closed in 1884.
• From 1881 to the end of the nineteenth century the house was owned by three I different men and was leased to several tenants. I Cultural Resources Management Page 1 I I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain • From 1896 to 1916 only two tenants occupied the place. It was sold again in I 1914. • From 1917 to 1926 Clifton Villa was home to branches of the Cooper family, well-known Balmain residents. The ball-room was used to give dance lessons I and the house was a feature of local activities and entertainments.
• In this period the land to the south, formerly part of the grounds for Clifton Villa, I began to be sub-divided.
• From the mid-1920s to 1973 Clifton Villa was sold four times with the residents I mostly being the owners.
• From 1973 to 1977 Clifton Villa became the premises of Chiron College a I progressive late secondary school. It was heavily supported by the arts community and had strong associations with writers, artists, entertainers and I politicians. • From 1977 the house has again reverted to residential purposes and several changes and additions have been made including the addition of a swimming I pool in 1978.
I PLAN SHOWING LOCATION OF LAND
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I Clifton Villa on Lots 42 and 40 (Source: LTO, eT 12196 Folio 201) I Cultural Resources Management Page 2 I I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain I SECTION 2.0 I INTRODUCTION I 2.1 The Site I The subject of this report is the property and improvements at 73 Ballast Point Road, Balmain, known as "Clifton Villa". This residential property is located on a ridge above the waterfront of Snails Bay at the northern end of the Balmain peninsula. It is within the Municipality of Leichhardt, Parish of Petersham and County of I Cumberland. It may be identified as Lot 2 DP 212892. I 2.2 The Work The purpose of this work is to provide an historical narrative of the development of I this site and its associations to inform its current owners. 2.3 Methodology and Tasks
I Clifton Villa is very poorly resourced with respect to primary documentation. An extensive investigation has been made of the principal archival resources including I records in • The Land Titles Office of NSW I • Sydney Water Archives 'I • Lands Department • Mitchell Library plans, images, folio and printed material catalogues I • State Archives As well, enquires have been made to the Balmain Association, Or Peter Reynolds (principal historian for Balmain) and Mr Howard Tanner who carried out architectural I work on the house in the 1980s. The work did not extend to lengthy investigations of contemporary newspapers and journals that might reveal more details of the house I and its occupants. 2.4 Authorship, Client and Acknowledgements I This report was researched and written by Wendy Thorp (Cultural Resources Management) at the request of the owners of Clifton Villa, Mr and Mrs Ainsworth. The author would like to thank the following for their assistance:
I Or Peter Reynolds The Balmain Association I Mr Howard Tanner I Cultural Resources Management Page 3 I ~I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain I SECTION 3.0 HISTORICAL ANALYSIS I
Clifton Villa is not well documented. At best the available resources provide only a I broad outline of its long history of both private and public use. These resources have been used to develop a history of the place that reflects the principal phases of its i use as well as the context of its development. These phases are: I • The Pre-Settlement Environment • Gilchrist Place I • Smith's Subdivision I • George Elsworthy: Building Clifton Villa • A Girls' School I • Residential Years I • Chiron College • A Home Again I I I I I I I I I Cultural Resources Management Page 4 I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain
I 3.1 Pre-Settlement Environment
The geology of Hawkesbury Sandstone that underlies the Balmain Peninsula gives I rise to its distinctive topography of stepped ridges down to the bays and waterways that surround it. This topography would have a major influence on later settlement; the higher ground with its better drainage and waterfront areas with views and I access to transport would be devoted to more exclusive occupation while the swampier and lower ground would be left for less affluent settlers.
I Before Europeans settled in the area and began to impact on its environment the ridges like that on which Clifton Villa has been built are likely to have been covered in an open forest. Trees that could have been found in this forest would have included I the Smooth-Barked Apple (Angophora Costata), Sydney Peppermint (Eucalyptus Piperita), Lomandira longifolia, blackwattles and occasional Red Bloodwoods. Black She-Oak could form dense thickets. The appearance of the place would have been similar to that seen on the remnant forest on the northern side of the harbour at I 1 places such as Balls Head .
The soils in a landscape of this type typically are poor and ill suited to agriculture. I Balmain was never exploited for significant agricultural purposes for this reason although pockets were capable of farming. A number of the earliest houses in the I district created flourishing gardens and orchards. Its picturesque qualities and its bays and coves were its most appreciated features. In 1823 it was said that the area had "scenery of the most varied and interesting I description with an abundant supply of excellent water and in many places the soil is eminently adapted for horticultural purposes...and there is good landing for boats in I every situation where the water touches". In the early years of the new settlement the Balmain peninsula was the scene of kangaroo and other game hunting. Timber-getters and grass cutters denuded much I of ,it of trees. There is no evidence to show when the land within and around Clifton Villa was cleared but it certainly was so by the mid-nineteenth century as part of the I subdivision of the principal estate. I I I I I I 1 Benson and Howell, Taken for Granted: The Bushland of Sydney and Suburbs: 61
I Cultural Resources Management Page 5 J'------__ I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain I 3.2 Gilchrist Place I The first grants issued to Europeans at Balmain were made in the years 1788, 1794 and 1796. All the recipients were military men and the properties were located around the northern part of the peninsula. Just to the west of Clifton Villa Grove I Street marks the eastern boundary of a land grant made in 1796 to Private George Whitfield of the NSW Corps. Lieutenant John Birch purchased this property in 1810 and built a house on it that he named Birch Grove. This gave rise to a name for the I surrounding district. On 26 April 1800 Governor John Hunter granted to Dr William Balmain, surgeon of the First Fleet, 550 acres being the remainder of the peninsula. This grant includes -I 2 the land occupied by Clifton Villa . The Governor specified that the property be called "Gilchrist Place". Fifteen months after receiving the grant, in 1801, Balmain sold it to John Gilchrist in an unregistered dealing for five shillings. Gilchrist was a resident of I India and never lived in the colony. The relationship between the Governor, Gilchrist and Balmain has never been made clear. The transaction to sell the land was so I secretive that even the administrators of Balmain's estate were unaware of it. It was not until 1823 that the public became aware that Gilchrist Place, more popularly known as the Balmain Estate, had been sold twenty-three years before. I Finding himself in a difficult financial situation Gilchrist arranged for a local merchant to act as his agent and offer the property for sale. It failed to attract a buyer. In 1833 Gilchrist appointed Sydney merchant Frederick Parbury to act as his attorney and sell the Balmain land. The subdivision was made by Surveyor John Armstrong and I an advertisement was placed in the Sydney press in July 1836 offering to let for five years either wholly or in lots of ten to one hundred acres all of the Balmain Estate of I 550 acres. The first auction took place on 24 October 1836. Twenty-two allotments were sold that represented approximately fifty acres out of the estate. The next subdivision in I 1837 released twenty hectares on Darling Harbour and Johnstons Bay of which about fifteen hectares were sold. In 1839 more of the estate at Ballast Point was I subdivided and put to auction. The continuing subdivision of the estate was halted by the onset of a severe economic recession that endured for most of the first half of the 1840s. More directly I a legal difficulty concerning a codicil of Gilchrist's will halted any further development. John Borthwick Gilchrist died at his home in Paris at the age of eighty-two in January 1841. The codicil allowed for a residue of his property to fund a Trust that would I promote the advancement of education and learning throughout the world. A family dispute over this legacy was to continue through the courts until 1858. The status of the land at Balmain, though, was decided by May 1851 through litigation made in the I High Court of Chancery in London. The remaining land on the peninsula was offered for sale shortly thereafter. I I I 2 LTO, Grants of Land Serial 3: 38
I Cultural Resources Management Page 6 I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain
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I 7 I I I I I I I I EARLY LAND GRANTS 1788-1828 1 Richard Johnson 1790 I 2 John Prentice 1794 3 Thomas Biggers 1794 I 4 Catherine King 1795 5 George Whit field 1796 6 George Johnston1799 I 7 William Balmain1800 8 Martha Moore 1B10 9 Wi\liam Thomas 1810 I 10 Hugh Piper 1811 11 John Piper 1811 12 James Darbyshire1819 I 13 John Aust en 1819 14 Lawrence Butler 1819 15 Francis L\oyd 1819 I 1C I .. r.~ n~I_L-. 10')1 The principal land grants of the Balmain peninsula. Clifton Villa is within the northern part of Balmain's grant (No. 7) and close to the boundary of Whitfield's farm (No.5). I (Source: W. Thorp, Thematic History Leichhardt Heritage Studv: 108)
I Cultural Resources Management Page 7 1 I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain 3.3 Smith's Subdivision I While a large part of Balmain remained in deadlock while the legal battle over the Gilchrist Trust was fought out in Britain that portion which had been developed had undergone a rapid period of subdivision and development. By 1846 19.6% of the I suburban population of Sydney lived in Balmain, the largest residential place in the colony at that time. It was to remain one of the most densely occupied areas in Sydney throughout the nineteenth century. It was in this mid-nineteenth century I period that Balmain evolved from a country hamlet to a suburban municipality. The resolution of Gilchrist's will in 1851 freed this large tract of land at a time when Sydney was experiencing one of its periodic building booms. Speculators were keen I to take advantage of the suburbs and its proximity to Sydney. In the same period the first regular and reliable ferry service was established to Balmain making it an easy I and convenient trip from the peninsula to the city. : . Charles Langley made a new subdivision of the remaining Gilchrist land in 1852. He laid out the streets that now surround Clifton Villa and numbered the new subdivision I in Sections from 1- 46. The study area is within Section 31 of this subdivision.
On 1 April 1853 Section 31, approximately six acres, was sold to Charles Smith I (Master Mariner) and Didier Jubert (Merchant) for £1368-5-7 1/2 3. In October 1853 4 Jubert sold his interest in the land to Smith for £1684 . Smith's estate then comprised all the land north of Ballast Point Road, bound on the west by Birch Grove Road, on I the east by Ronald Street and on the no.rth by Snail's Bay. This was known as Smith's Subdivision.
Within a week of his purchase Smith had subdivided his land into allotments to the I north and south of a reserved road, now Wharf Road. Six allotments south of the I reserved road had been sold by 13 September 1853. I I I I I I
\ - , ; I I 3 LTO, Old Systems Book 27 #374 \ J. 'J 4 LTO, Old Systems Book 28 # 94 I Cultural Resources Management Page 8 I I Historical______Report: Clifton VII,,/,, '. S ., 1}f . i '., ' I (>' .. I I I I I I I I Cultural Resources Management Page 9 J I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain 3.4 George Elsworthy: Building Clifton Villa I On 13 October 1853 Smith sold allotments 36, 38, 40 and 42 of the Subdivision of Section 31 to Rose Adcock of Ermington, Spinster, for £405 poundss. This encompassed the land on which Clifton Villa was later built (allotments 40-42) as well I as the two allotments to the south. In May 1857 Miss Adcock sold allotments 40 and 6 42 to George Elsworthy, a tailor of Sydney, for £180 . I On 5 June 1857 Elsworthy took out a mortgage for the property? It is most likely that this money was used to build Clifton Villa. In October of the same year he extended 8 9 the mortgage and in March 1858 another extension was made to it . He required -I- 10 more money in May and November 1859 • It seems most likely that these additional finances were intended to extend and complete the house and other improvements to the property. I The difficulty in determining the date of construction and even the residents of the property until the later years of the century is that they do not appear in Directory listings. There is no George Elsworthy listed in Balmain at any time in the 1850s or I 1860s and even Ballast Point Road does not appear at first. For several years the residents of the district are listed alphabetically according to surnames with only a I reference to the street in which they reside. The absence of Elsworthy in the Directory for any year suggests that he may have built the house speculatively although it has more the appearance of a purpose-built I residence. It was constructed in the fashionable Victorian Rustic Gothic style, an outcome of the Picturesque and Romantic Movement in Britain. I The original house comprised a simple square plan with two rooms opening either side of the staircase foyer and a large room running the width of the house on the ground floor. There were four similarly sized rooms on the first floor. A verandah I surrounded the house on all sides. This is evident from the building fabric. The house appears to originally have had two small square sandstone outbuildings on the Ballast Point Road frontage symmetrically placed either side and to the back I of the main house. The southern most of these survives to the greater degree. This appears to have been the original kitchen to the house. It was incorporated into the ballroom later in the century. The northernmost is less intact and its purpose less I clear although a wash-house, storeroom is possible. The earliest houses in Balmain had been built at the turn of the nineteenth century for I the great landowners as country retreats. Birch Grove House, for example, was built in 1810. With the greater accessibility of the area through improved road and rail access the nature of suburb changed from a country retreat to an affluent Sydney I suburb. Many of the houses built on the ridges of Balmain in this period such as Balmoral House in Waterview Street and including Clifton Villa reflect this transitional 11 period • I The population of the suburb greatly expanded in this mid-century period resulting in the proclamation of a municipality in 1860. In 1850 real estate notices stated that I 5 LTO, Old Systems Book 28 # 249 6 LTO, Old Systems Book 48 # 981 7 LTO, Old Systems Book 229#778 8 Ibid. I 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid. I 11 Wendt Thorp, Leichhardt Heritage Study Thematic History: 36 Cultural Resources Management Page 10 I I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain there was by that time extreme difficulty in obtaining "anything like and eligible site for a building in the neighbourhood of Balmain,,12. The corollary to this growth of an I exclusive residential suburb on the heights was that in the lower areas of the peninsula a thriving working class population and numerous industries were establishing a distinctive character, population and environment. The growing I industrial environment was consolidated in the mid-nineteenth century by the establishment of Morts Dock in 1854. I Assuming that Elsworthy built the house he did not always live at the property. The fist certain identification of an occupant with Clifton Villa occurs in 1871 when John E. Manning, a steamboat proprietor, was listed living at "Clifton villa,,13. I In August 1874 George Elsworthy took out another mortgage but the purpose of the transaction, and whether it was related to improvements to the property is )1 unknown14. One local historian states that the ballroom was added in the mid-1870s15 and this may explain the additional expense. The room was added to one side of the house with entry from the main building and incorporated the small sandstone I kitchen on the southern side of the house. I I I I I I I I I I 12 Sydney Morning Herald 14 December 1850 13 Sands and Kenney, City and Suburban Street Directory, Ballast Pointy Road: 1871 I 14 Ibid. 15 R. Brown, A Tour of History in Balmain and Glebe: 8 I Cultural Resources Management Page 11 I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain 3.5 A Girls' School I By 1876 Clifton Villa is said to have come into use as a private school for girls run by Mrs Helen Chilcott. The commencement date for this establishment may have been a little later; the earliest date that can be confirmed is 1879. In that year Mrs Helen I Chilcott's Ladies School at Clifton Villa was listed in local directories16. The property was still owned by George Elsworthy. He died in February 1878 and I when probate was granted on his will in March 1878 Clifton Villa was inherited by his son James Baker Elsworthy. In this period Balmain was considered to be one of the three wealthiest suburbs in I Sydney. The dichotomy between the two populations was noted in several guidebooks. For example it was said that, I "Ba/main is principally a working man's suburb but several very pretty suburbs are situated near Snails Bay"17. I James apparently allowed the girls' school to continue in operation at his house for the remainder of his period of ownership. In September 1881, he sold the property to 18 Francis Adams along with some other land for £1500 . The new owner also allowed I the school to continue at the house. In 1882 it is listed as a boarding school. The final 19 year of its operation was 1883. The school had closed by 1884 . I I I I I I I I I 16 Sands and Kenney, City and Suburban Directory, Ballast Point Road 1879 17 H. Samuel, How to Know Sydney 1895: 40 I 16 LTO, Old Systems Book 229 # 778 19 Sands and Kenney, City and Suburban Directory, Ballast Point Road 1881-1883 I Cultural Resources Management Page 12 I I Survey of Clifton Villa a' . (Source: Sydney ~ t nd Ifs envIrons in 1887 a er, Plan PWD 245-1544) I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain 3.6 Residential Years nineteenth century is I The transfer of ownership of Clifton Villa in the later part of the 1883 at which time it confused but it appears that Adams only owned the house until 2 appears to be that was sold to Waiter Ackhurst for £1050 °. The confusing issue and the Reverend I Adams had taken out a mortgage with Henry Augustus Alien appears not to have Charles Piddle in September 1881 to secure the property21. He Alien and Piddle, finalised this arrangement before selling the property to Ackhurst. interest passed to I therefore, had ri~hts to the property. In 1888 Alien died and his out a mortgage in September Edward Stephen 2. To resolve the issue Ackhurst took 23 of Clifton Villa . 1883 and paid off Piddle and Stephen leaving himself as sole owner I 1884 to 1885 it was Ackhurst did not immediately come to live in Clifton Villa. From being in occupation leased to John Stewart, a molude~4. Ackhurst is recorded as 25 two years to Frank Lovitt, a printer, in1886 and 1887 . He leased it again for another 26 I and station agent, in 1889 . Ackhurst in 1888, and George H. Holme, a stock 27 in 1890 and 1891 . returned there for the final two years that he owned Clifton Villa, century. The I There are only two surveys of the house as it was in the nineteenth the addition of the earliest is dated 1887. It shows the main stone-built house with by this date ballroom that incorporated the earlier kitchen. The second out-building probably doubling I had been altered by the addition of a timber extension to the back was constructed in its size. A very large wooden out-building, a stables most likely, a small portion front of this older building. In the north-eastern corner of the grounds 28 .A second survey I had been fenced off and enclosed a small'wooden water c1oset property had several prepared two years later shows exactly the same details. The solid fences along entrances from Ballast Point Road and was fenced all around with to the other two Ballast Point Road and part of the eastern boundary and timber I 29 sides. . Paul Gee Cox, Rock Ackhurst sold Clifton Villa to a group that comprised James I 3 builder and timber Davis and Edmund Farnsworth for £2500 °. Cox's father, a ship Harbour to his merchant, had died in 1887 leaving a valuable property on Darling Clifton Villa for the partners, Davis, Parks and Farnsworth. They contract to buy 31 being the principal I widow and her child . In 1892-3 James Cox is recorded as 32 is recorded as the resident of Clifton Villa . For the next two years J. B. Christian Cox is again the resident of the house but then, from 1896 to 1907 James 3 I occupane . sold, in 1904. In It was during this long period of residency that the house was again 34 never to have I that year John Cameron purchased Clifton Villa . Cameron appears Cox was still living occupied the house. Apart from the first three years that James I 20 LTO, Old Systems Book 276#647 21 Ibid. 22 LTO, Old Systems Book 390 # 375 396#267, Book 464#452 I 23 LTO, Old System Books Ballast Point Road: 1884-1885 24 Sands and Kenney, City and Suburban Directory, 25 Ibid: 1886-87 26 Ibid: 1888-1889 27 lbid: 1890-1891 I PWD 245-1544 28 Sydney Water, Plan Series Balmain Sheet 5 M Ser 4 811.17/1 29 NSW Department of Lands, Metropolitan Detail 30 LTO, Old System Book 464#478 31 Ibid. and Suburban Directory, Ballast Point Road: 1892-3 I 32 Sands and Kenney, City 33 lbid: 1894-1907 #436 I 34 LTO, Old System Book 654 Page 13 Cultural Resources Management I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain I 35 there, from 1908 to 1916 the resident of Clifton Villa is recorded as Nelson Sooth . A survey of the site in 1907 shows it to be largely unchanged from those of the 1880s. 36 I All the out-buildings and area of land surrounding the house remain the same • Some of the longest-staying and best known residents of the house were the Cooper I family. From 1917 until 1926 Samuel Cooper, teacher of dancing, was the principal 37 occupant. In 1919 he was joined by William D. Robertson . In 1973 a news article explained the situation during an interview with Mrs Sella I Cooper and Mrs Mimie Robertson who were living in the house. Mrs Cooper said that she had brought up her two children there and that she and her husband and children lived in the house. They used the ballroom to give the dance classes using a I pianola to provide music. Her sister Mimie Robertson and her husband occupied the 38 other half of the house . I One of the cousins remembered the family parties and New Years Eve when there was a bonfire in the "paddock" behind the house called by locals "the Quarry". Another remembered stabling his horses at the Clifton Villa stables and how he I nearly lost one horse down the big old well. This was behind the ballroom and is still there; it was discovered by workmen in 1973. There is a second well in the house, now boarded up. The family said that at the time the house looked the same as they I remembered if from earlier in the century but the grounds were very different; a 39 circular carriageway, stables, playground and lawns had all gone . I A later note about the death of Sella Cooper had her stating that the house had four attics, four large bedrooms on second floor and four rooms on ground floor as well as a large ballroom and kitchen. I A survey of the area in 1927 shows the out-buildings to be still intact but the first sub division had been made of the grounds to the south with a house having been 40 I constructed at the farthest point from the house . In 1925 the Trustees of James Cox's estate sold Clifton Villa to James Rutley for 41 £1175 . The Coopers and Robertsons stayed on as tenants until 1927 at which time 42 I Rutley took up residence. He remained there for 1927 and 1928 . From 1929 to 43 1931 Mrs Mary Osborne occupied the house . In 1932 a new tenant came to Clifton 44 45 I Villa, a Mrs Chrsitofffersen . The house was sold to S.H. Christoffersen in 1937 . A survey probably prepared in the 1930s or 1940s shows the general footprint of most of the buildings to be the same as they had appeared on the 1880s and earlier twentieth century surveys. The principal difference was the absence of the large I 46 wooden building, probably the stables, to the northern side of the house . In 1946 47 I Beatrice Howarth purchased Clifton Villa . She retained ownership until 1972. 35 Sands and Kenney, City and Suburban Directory, Ballast Point Road 1884-1916 36 Sydney Water, Plan DL 50 I 37 Sands and Kenney, City and Suburban Directory, Ballast Point Road: 1917-1926 36 "Looking Back to Old Balmain Clifton Villa", Tiger 10 July 1973: 6 39 Ibid. 40 Sydney Water, Plan SO 42467 Sheet 1: 1927 I 41 LTO, Old System Book 408#577 42 Sands and Kenney, City and Suburban Directory, Ballast Point Road 1926-1928 43 Ibid: 1929-1931. 44 Ibid: 1932 45 LTO, Old System Book 1785#888 I 46 Sydney Water, Plan BW 115 RH 47 LTO, Old System Book 1984#837 I Cultural Resources Management Page 14 I ,..,,. :1 - I .. * ~ \ .. ' .. ... ' -~ ... ~... ~. I ,..-... ' ,..")' SHEET I < I " I " I I ,. .' , .' ,,/ I / / /' / .4 I ./ " I ~ ~ -.,. I u. I I I /) I .1 I I D I R o A I ). I SCAU~ OF Ftan Survey of the site in 1889 (Source: NSW Department of Lands, Metropolitan Detail Series Balmain Sheet 5 ML M Ser4 811.17/11 I i PJan~ Survey ofthe site in 1907 fi 0 jinKs (Source: Sydney Water, Plan OL 50) 5 eales { } 10 One Ine!I. -- Seclions,---J.for. ZCIJns., fer. 20 feef ~:. ,. I' lIole~ I .:.' Bas e LIne Of Le YIlls is =50 it beID JY Oil/om i\ _. .;\ ") : ..' . . ';- I' . '. : t • > I I i I / ROAD .. ,. .L"S PLA:-'; ML;ST K01 '. APPROVALOFS'; - .. conm~~'_ . '. '.: / • ,- -;-ri'~RfCB..j(, .. 1------.;(~.-~~::-~------=-~------:------..... .4 ~ ~ ~ < . ~ ~"~ ~ . < .. ..-_.-- - --_ _---_ i .~: . \ '1" 11'-' r:" t'" 1 r 1. ' I If' \ ,',:) , . ~\ ~ i L.Jl '''" ~ :: r( 5 ~ ... :,<.' :~. \,.r ,,: '::.~ ;-.J:)~.l:.:Cr:i)\'I·~~lE()UI ~ \ ~~. i : ..\~. (.'~': :)yJ~:~::.-y I l \V:\TI:.R \ ; \ ~ \ , .".,2,~:tOt.r.;,~:;: I ' I.j Ij /) .' . 01 1 I' c ~:;·.':'· ..·.. ~T/t~,~': .... "~"""'.:':", ", .. ' ~ I ~ ~ [- --.···.. 0 ..... "--.. . V 1 . l.. ~ V Vj V ~ ~ ~ '"" I ~ ~ ~ ~ Survey of the site in 1927 I (Source: Sydney Water, Plan SO 42467) , 1 / 1 ...... 1 - ,J-'.' ,. " ' ~~~ r"\~" Con 4-1,-05 __ I 1-.., I· - , . . :' -\-- I 1 ,I T i 'I .:. -; ~ ...r ~ I 48"4100 T.c'-c, G80 "'\, .." of Z4-4--GI 1------=--=:..-.:... --- ~ --- ". :.:.: . \- ~, , " " ~." , [/1""":- '::f ~----' .,.. -.-- ~~ ".-.- - ...... "- {I _,-I".---' ,\~ \ I ~\ \ \ \ i ~\\ ,I \ I :I '1/ ~I\ B A TA I :, -, . .A. s ..r - - \>--\ I ~\0' - I J '~~' '1'" .. --." .. -,0 i \6 " , ·f] S.urvey of the site c,1930s-40 (Source'Syd. ney Water, PlansPWO 11 5-RH! o • ,/"I I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain 3.7 Chiron College 48 I In 1973 Charles and Barbara Blackman purchased the property for $82,500 . The house was used to establish a new educational establishment known as Chiron I College. Chiron College was a specialised two-year matriculation school. It offered small classes and individual tuition. It was co-educational and offered a much more relaxed 49 I and non-institutional environment than state or other private schools . Its prospectus stated that, "Chiron College offers an alternative approach to gaining the Higher School I Certificate, a more mature way of student life and study, a transition period in which the emerging adult personality can come to terms with study disciplines and the I handling ofsocial situations and relationships with other people. "The student who spends these important two years at Chiron College has longer tuition periods, the right and opportunity to discuss and to question (during or out of I class) and is learning tertiary attitudes and methods of work while studying senior secondary subjects. In addition students have a wide range of extra activities through which to become aware of interests for future development and involvement with I other people at relevant levels"so. The College had attracted much interest and support from a wide range of famous I and influential people. To help its financial standing in its first years two hundred prominent Australian poets, novelists, historians, composers, cartoonists, painters, politicians and others provided a page of their own work for a manuscript collection that was auctioned to benefit the school. The Chiron manuscript collection included I contributions by Xavier Herbert, Bob Hawke, Barry Humphries, John Olson, Peter Sculthorpe, Judith Wright, Brett Whitely, Margaret Whitlam, John Coburn and s1 Professor Manning Clarke amongst many others . The College was involved closely I with the arts community of the period even hosting the sixtieth birthday celebrations S2 for Judith Wright . I Some changes were made to the house as a result of this new use. Laboratory, library and studio facilities were provided within the place. One plan of the class room I areas survives from 1976. The college was closed in 1977. I I I I 48 LTO, Old System Book 3101#2 49 Chiron College prospectus, undated. 50 Ibid. I 51 Ibid. 52 Ibid. I Cultural Resources Management Page 15 I I ., I ._.~ I CLASS 0. -,[ ZJ 0.".. t ! I CLA55 I P~OPOStD' NtW l~ ELl E"NCt/ bLOC/\ ~~:~1:_~_. ~ _.. '-' i _...... ! C!.JA5S4 CLA55lj. ·1 "'~ .. - - 20 J ",1 20'1 .. - -- I . ._-.-. .J • 4.1 41 I NbW WC'S I I '.J__BIlI__ SLCOllD rl,OOr< PLAN / / , ! I L1B~A~Y ., r &. .---'" -.f - ._n COMMON I ROOM J--_··········L (, - .. I - . -. ~.- : I 'l' :'.4 ~.4 ." '1 OfFICe, ART ", C2>.[; ",1 '/ ClASS fJ, ClA557. lit.'i ,.,z IG 7 .., .. , I' ti=====;;r==,-;:====;r/ 1 i :j !. STAff E, I (,Itl\ I\.OOM .. .1- 'I . r", RUbfTlON ~--... -~_.. - .~..~1 t--- - I- I I ---.- I GRAFT ClASS 8. C~ASS 3. [: 1~ If T",I c 0 ",,' .. .!. _. -- r- .. -' .. .. -, -f-..-- I -.- ... ~~j_i ,/ DARK PlOOM :,. t ------~- I ? 7lT1. , .. 1. . "_ J..l )J f)A\,\,A5T po iN T "- 0 A 0 I T~IRD f~OOR PLAN I " -- f GROUND PlAN I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Ba/main I 3.8 A Home Again I Chiron College was sold in 1977 and the new owners converted the premises back to private residential use. They restored the rooms on the verandah and put in a swimming pool during 1978. Cox Tanner Architects carried out the work including I new gates for the driveway. The house was put to auction in 1986 and was purchased by Mrs Beverley I Macintosh. In the following year Howard Tanner and Associates prepared plans for alterations to the building. From the 1970s onwards the house has attracted the attention of many concerned I for the cultural heritage of Balmain and the state. Clifton Villa was listed by the National Trust, it is included in the inventory of the Leichhardt Municipal heritage study and is a scheduled item on the LEP. It is included in the NSW State Heritage I Inventory and the Register of the National Estate. I I I I i I I I I I I I I I Cultural Resources Management Page 16 I I -, ! " -1 \..' =t:< - I t-~-- ,~ I I I I I I I I - -1-- i' 1: 20 I r I I I I " ,.-1/ Pickets Heavy 'd,ut~ ,----"\-----Piers existi ng I 75x25 c/c 100 gate latch I ,,"---+----Levelof top of pickets I -tf'~--'--ll----Hook and eye hinges I with 300 mm strap bolted to wol ing Picket Detail I 1li'1t-~-tt--+t--tt--':"'~----II------.., Woli ng 150 x 25 Full Size I nailed to each p!cket I '- ... :; ::.;; NOTE :~ . ,'," ", ":i~ , '. .' . - ,".' I , "." ':~ .' " ";--' '; \\" ' builder to measure openin gs' nnd .' .' .. } ...... o' • , ;.. " ,': ..Heavy duty .' , pler::ileights on site and to leaw ..:- " . " .... . ~.' ~ :~~: - ~ ~t~~ ,~i I b .{ bolt I· " . .. , . mininlum uniform gap "':" :. : ''.. . .. ,' ..: .. :~rre .;1.' .. .' .. bottom of pk:ket 'and . propO~ed .', ... ~ ~: I • .' :. • .. c '..:...,:<. ..,. '(.. ::...... - .. -; .\'>«.A;;··; , \[:~ .. :$.... FQR.'-':·.:i1]:{E DRIVE,WAY:.:":{-"-'<'·:.-:"" .... .loB ~o. .:. DRAWING :·No».;'1J·:·.~::;; :~!'~:." .." ";";" .. ;"' :.~.;:'. ~~~'. . ;·':~~~'~~~~l~t:~~""·:~~,,;.f' ':.. :. .~.~_}::.{/.. '. '- .. ' \' i:- ... ~. ""'r ...r.r-.,,;;Aii." I ~. ,~1:~.:tt1i;,';;;/~~~t~9.~.§.B.PYiA~~~:~, :~,..~~~;;;!" '.: -',.' . ~:.<_: :.?:t'~J). :i.;:~' .. :.' ,~.; ..:;-; -<~i/ff;fi/ ~~~ I I I I ...' . I 'y,': - ·1 ,t' I .~ " ' \ , , 1· '. I ", . ," .... " ... I I ~ '. p !. t'/.01B: SO'11-\ ~~~ ANt:> w.e. 10 l-lA'rt. " : .'~"'~:'~ .;: .::~. ~ .' .' I I'-l4IO~,~'(~P. , . ':'". I .' , ' CLlFTON VILLA ..... 13 BALLAST POINT ROA[ I . ,~ . BIRCHGROVE I FOR A.+ J~ SaJTER ARCHITECTS & CONSERVATION PLA I HOWARDTANNER : :. AS~OCIATES " & PT)" LTn I 22 HUTOiIN$pN ST., SJ.!ffY HILLS 2010 I DRAWI!"IG NEW' BATHROOMS + w.e I scALE 1: 100 AP: I DRAWN CHE( -rca_·_~.,...... ' ..~ ..:.._~ .. ORA' ,'. JOBNOHBE/J I :~~. . 871'-:3 '.' , . ,', I Coprrlfhc ~ T...... Aiolocio I ~ SITTING DINING I I I ,- I r ·-smOy-·_· HALL I LIVING I I I I I OUTBUILDING I~ I NEW KITCHEN I L~~~~=====r:=~ ;:::===~ I 0 I BREAKFAST I ~------J lbLJ::!,~~=====c=.J I·~ . I - OLD KITCHEN ..., .. I . ~ I PLAN LEVEL 1 I SITE PLAN I BALLAST POIN T ROAD I I I I •••••• or • ...... ~ .... " . I ...... : .. ., .0'.. I I , , " ; ':.: Ir------I ~~ \ I J I I BED 5 BED 4 ! I _JY1 - 1 ,s d I S'S..i. C 7 I BATH ~ BED 6 ~.~O i I ~ - .....~1 1- : ~ ~. I I \ J 'f"' i~ I -J ------STUDY I PLAN LEVEL 3 I I SECTION I I I,..•• ~. •• • , ~. -• • I I I ..::' ~;~~. '~.;'" r,¥""i 1:':: .' . :~,.~ll ..~,,' ~ . ~.~-;=,~Jtc.. ~:)' ¥~ ~ ... _ .... • .' .... :-4-~ .. ' . I l ...,.. ..:.. ~'.- , 1 , 1 I"c---- ,~'->-:-""-;--,---"-- -:. . " ~. .- .. ,'\ I " ,:".' . ~ " , • ··"r • ! I ---- 1 .... r----- 1 .. I / I BED 2 . BED 1 BED ~ 1 r 1 1 BED 3 I ! 1r BED 6 I I I 11 I ! I L-.- _ li! I , , " . 1/' · " , I ...... ' I' -'. . .\ '. ~ \ 1".' '. 1 1--+-- _ j I'------1- , 1 ,. PLAN LEVEL 2 1 I: I, , POOL I .. / ------u-'\ iM-r I' --~ .~ verahdah restoration l II .- by Qthers f' " .~ ~ , w ,..-'------S(S\~ ./ ~ r __ -1.--_ .picket f6lce and gates to detail SOUTH ELEVATION 1: 50 \ .'_.- \ \ " -""' \ l .;I \, \ \ / I \ j ,..-'''-- I -~~_._ _.~.-~-""" ._~ _.-.--- -_.-. . -'~~-'~ ....::-~ ,~., - _._ .._.. , ,,- \. , I'" SKETCH CLIFTON VILLA BIRCHGROVE COX TANNERP/L ARCHITECTS .. .. ~A lC2~b~ -} ------7 ,/\ -I' 1\\\00 "', ,. Bm","""ilt 305 ~ :I #' _~~ng; ~/ ,.~ _-L:::~"..__--:.---.-:---==,,''c-----..- - '" ----~=~-'<~;-.. e '---t- "",,----.----~ .~.ex 200xsO'------. -,------e' "oO"co ...... _._--- " ----XiS tr,q.. bUI'\d'1119 ------__' '---J..'.''% ' ~ ._. -- ~ galvanised steel :I ~~Iebolted 'to 1 • 1 I I i ex 125 x '::'~p'osts +hardwuo d .. 500 selected bricK paving 100mm rc slab ~..9a~.steel shoe mln~ and bott F 62 rr-esh in top sand bed --~@ll!fn,~~ - ,.. :: I .. j I -I .-r---~-----~---- 1../ . , " .... . 125•. '. " " I. crNer '. , . ,. /" F62sb5 Inn~~0~s9u """ ".' ~TJON Q il~ - ?lAB-DETAI_LJ.~2 _.- __ ----. I .- ..- --- I _ ... I I T--'--- .[ine thro_~.~~l1tll ____ ._-~.I ~ ==:!±===--_ ...__ -~~U:I~ /,/1 -. I : ~.50 mm wide ~a\v.s _ ~{7';_~:: I ' 'f ~hoop ,= tmp. 1 ~ I', 1 I ~~ --9!' I "T . ~ ~/ i I I I ~ ~ li I ~ ./' i I' ~ "y ! ,: ~"',; ii f ~~7 ii: I I ' '\::~ 1'" ~~ golvan!sed 11 ~ W l' '/ ~ steel gutter I.:: '11 I ! ~ ._~,~ i // 'I Ii '~ 7 I " I. I 1\ # ~ I,;: ;ex~i , ~",I ste~ / """, ' , I;---r- ~ ~/' ~~~ .'i/ if I ~ I !lI ' '-== j U {/ •11 "I1 ~line thccugh I -"-l" " L.50 L----l~--1l---- ! ROOFPLAN 8)(125 5250 K. ----. -- >l 6O~~I IK 'I 1 CLIFTON VILLA BIRCHG~OVE1 : 50 COX TANNER P/L ARCHiTECTS I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I -.o.:.~ • ._,_. , ! i i :! " :, .. I;" i \ I I I ,i " I ~ I i :' . I I I I I ~,' I ---.... I I I I I I I 4-.-_----;)------I I I I. 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I I 360 I I -l r?> ! t // I // ~. -=; I .- , f ; /:6 .__ .. _._} ..- I : bb - .;(_... !& 1 • I ARCHITECfS & CONSERVAnON PLANNERS HOWARD TANNER I & ASSOCIATES PTY LTD 22-24 Hutchinson Street Surry Hills NSW Australia 2010 I Telephone (02) 360 2399 Facsimile (02) 332 1900 DRAWING I W//,)DOVV ~L SCALE DATE I I;J,Iv.' ..'-') /J1A-Y 88 DRAWN CHECKED I :JF'--- JOB NUHBER ~ '~') I 8 / /,? I I , 16'/"0 vep-o:=y 1\ i~-----~--=-=--~------t I 300 I ------_._------1 G)PLAN '1 I / ~ 1 100 ,1/ I / '" 700 300 I i @DETAIL SO.Le I:~ ,l/ I [.IIJ f'- CLIFTON VILLA 1 SOL-\P T\KBER 73 BALLAST POINT ROAD (3)SECTION Q)FRONT ELEVATION I BIRCHGROVE FOR A+J SOUTAR I ARCHITECTS & CONSERVATION PLANNERS' HOWARD TANNER & ASSOCIATE-S PTY LTD I 22-24 Hutchinson Street Surry Hills NSW Australia 2010 Telephone (02) 3602-3'99Facsimile (02) 332 1900 I DRAWING KITCHEN SHELVING UNIT. NOTES I SCALE DATE REA~ ~6 ~t:> , - E.<....eVA-TlON TO \:\ / nO NOV 8r 'e>OA~.D1Ne:;. I DRAWN . CHECKED - Al.-L. c.X'POS'E.P SU~c::''''c.e:S "to 'e~ t,.A. I 7 \ = ea I / c..U"FtON V \<...LA I 72> "R-A;U-~T FOl,,",' RoA.D "B\.~c....~'Je:. fOR... A +..) So...::s\A.~. FRONT ELEVATION SlOE ELEVATION SECTION AA I ARCHITECTS & CONSERVAnON PLANNERS HOWARD TANNER ---I & ASSOCIAT..ES PTY LTD I I 22-24 Hutchinson Street I Surry Hills NSW Australia 2010 I Telephone (02) 360 2399 Facsimile (02) 332 1900 I NOTES I I DRAWING I - ~ &)cpQ-i;6D ~F".-..c.e;~ TO -ae ~U~ I I c.eDA~ oR- \<.~Tf-.\Q~ S?€oes/ AU AI---IH--- DATE I Itvn;:.~P,L- S'-"A-F"~"b 'Be tvv\-1O-t'N<; SCALE VEf.1e.eR- , NCy'e"f ALt..oIlv ~ €~ ~ LJ6A.F VNO ~B I DRAWN CHECKED 10 ge of :s.'MA u- c.\RA>U' ~. .' . ".' .. ~ I w." •••:. ... # " ii;;" -I I Historical Report: Clifton ViI/a, Balmain I SECTION 4.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY I 4.1 Books and Reports I R. Brown (NO) A Tour of History in Balmain and Glebe Doug Benson and i- Jocelyn Howell Taken for Granted the Bushland of Sydney and Its Suburbs I Sydney. Kangaroo Press. 1990. McDonald McPhee Pty Ltd Wendy Thorp, Craig Burton Leichhardt Heritage Study I Leichhhardt Municipal Council: 1990 Peter Reynolds and Paul Flottmann Half A Hundred Acres Balmain A History of the Land I Grant Balmain Association. 1976. I I 4.2 Monographs, Miscellany Chiron College Prospectus (Undated) I 4.3 News Articles Sydney Morning Herald Home and Property House of the Week: Birchgrove I (1986) Tiger 10 July 1973: 6 Looking Back to Old Balmain Clifton Villa I Sydney Morning Herald Real estate notices for Balmain I 14 December 1850 4.4 Property Records I Sands and Kenney: City and Suburban Directory for 1859-1932 I Land Titles Office NSW Certificate of Title: Volume 12196 Folio 201 Land Titles Office NSW Old System Grants of Land Serial 3: 38 Land Titles Office of NSW Old System Book 27 # 374 I Old System Book 28 # 249 Old System Book 48 # 981 Old System Book 229 # 778 I Old System Book 276 # 647 I Cultural Resources Management Page 17 I I I Historical Report: Clifton Villa, Balmain Old System Book 390 # 375 Old System Book 386 # 267 I Old System Book 396 # 267 Old System Book 408 # 577 Old System Book 464 # 451 I Old System Book 464 # 452 Old System Book 464 # 478 Old System Book 754 # 436 ,I Old System Book 1308 # 52 Old System Book 3101 # 2 I 4.5 Maps and Plans C.E. Langley Plan of the Balmain Estate (1853) I ML M4 811.1821/1853/1 NSW Department of Lands Metropolitan Detail Series Balmain Sheet 5 (1889) I ML M Ser4 811.17/1 Sydney Water Survey of the area 16 August 1887 I Plan PWD 295-1544 Sydney Water Survey of the area 1907 I Plan DL 50 Sydney Water Survey of the area 1927 I Plan SO 42467 Sydney Water Sewer Detail Sheet (NO. 1930s-40s?) Plan BW 115 I Chiron College Class Rooms 1976 I Howard Tanner & Associates Clifton Villa 73 Ballast Point Road New Bathrooms and W.C. 1987 I I I I I I I Cultural Resources Management Page 18 I