Bear's Castle is a small faux castle (fortified homestead) constructed in approx 1846 in

Yan Yean Yan Yean is a locality in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 34 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Whittlesea and Shire of Nillumbik local government areas. Yan Yean recorded a population of 246 ...

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Construction

The castle was a cob construction from mud and clay with planks of timber in-between the layer of cob with a stone base for foundations. Large tree timbers providing form for the windows (inverted tree forks), and straight trunks provide support for the first floor. It was constructed in about 1846 by two men named Hannaford and Edwards, each of whom had recently arrived from

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

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where cob was a common building technique were engaged to build the castle. It was built for the pastoralist John Bear. The castle is approximately 12 square metres in area, and has

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

s and

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

s on each corner.

History

According to the 1975 history of Whittlesea Shire - The Plenty - A Centenary History of the Whittlesea Shire: "A reminder of the by gone days remains beside the Yan Yean Reservoir. On departure from his holding for several weeks, John Bear was asked by his employees what work they should undertake. The story goes that his reply was 'Build me a castle'. Taking the direction literally, Hannaford with John Edwards as puddler set to building a 'castle' of mud walls with forked timber for doorways and window openings. Small turrets, one with circular stairs, are set at the corners of the building, originally covered with shingles. The MMBW recognising the historic value of the structure - referred to as Bears Castle - have recovered it in galvanised roofing." "When James Duffy came as manager for Thomas Bear in 1865, he and his wife lived in this old castle while a house was built for them." The castle served as a temporary residence for Thomas Bear's farm manager, Joseph Owen and family from about 1865. Thomas was John Bears son. Some theories about the reason the castle was created include: * providing a bolt hole in case of attack - John Bear's wife had been held up by the Plenty bushrangers in 1842 and John was often absent on business; * a lookout, as it is on the top of a rise and the land had been cleared of trees which gave a good view over the Plenty River Valley; * refuge from bushfires; * providing protection from the weather for shepherds. In about 1900 the parapets and a castellated tower topping a corner turret were removed. In the 1970s the walls were rendered with chicken wire and mud to protect the building against decay. The earlier walls can be seen in the circa 1870 picture which includes 5 of Thomas Bear's children. The Yan Yean Reservoir can be seen in the background. The castle was added to the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

in 1998. As the castle is in a protected water catchment area for Melbourne, access is restricted. The Whittlesea Historical Society has at times arranged a guided visit to the site. These are infrequent and may occur once a year. The castle has 2 storeys however there is no flooring on the second storey. Tours of the site are still available.

References

External links

Bears Castle, Whittlesea Information Centre
Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Houses in Melbourne Buildings and structures completed in the 1840s 1840s establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in the City of Whittlesea {{VictoriaAU-geo-stub