''Fernhill'' is a heritage-listed former house and former inn located beside the

Great Western Highway Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, ...

in Bowenfels,

City of Lithgow The City of Lithgow is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Great Western Highway and the Main Western railway line. The Mayor of the City of Lithgow Council is ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was built from 1856 to 1859 by John Blackman. It is also known as Australia Arms Inn. The property is owned by

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

(NSW). It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999. On 18 July 2019 it was sold as a residential property.3109 Great Western Highway, Hartley, NSW 2790
realestate.com.au. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

History

The original land grant was issued to William Dwyer in 1837 for Portion 36, Parish Lett and County Cook. In 1856, Portion 36 was purchased by John Blackman. Between 1856 and 1858 the extant Fernhill complex was constructed and was known as the Australia Arms Inn. John Blackman died in 1860 and his widow Elizabeth operated it as an inn until 1873, after which time she lived in it as her home and renamed it ''Fernhill House''. After her death the property passed into the joint ownership of Richard Merrick (Blackman's nephew) and her nephew, James Peacock. From 1910 to the 1950s their descendants continued to live in the property. Eva Merrick died in 1970 and bequeathed her portion and its contents to the National Trust of Australia (NSW). After protracted and financial negotiations the National Trust acquired the remaining shares in 1982.

Description

''Fernhill'' is a single storey dressed stone building with ten rooms on the ground floor, four attic rooms and a cellar under the store room. The double pitched and

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

has a longitudinal valley and covered stepped

veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

h roof to three sides. The entrance door is six panelled with diagonally glazed

sidelights A sidelight or sidelite in a building is a window, usually with a vertical emphasis, that flanks a door or a larger window. Sidelights are narrow, usually stationary and found immediately adjacent doorways.Barr, Peter.Illustrated Glossary, 19th ...

and

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

. Internal doors are four panel doors. Windows are six paned

sash A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else running around the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, bu ...

type.

French doors A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by ...

lead off to the verandah. All joinery throughout is cedar. There are four fine stone fireplaces, one plain and three with well carved leaf, flower and acorn motifs. The timber shingled roof remains under the

corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America) and occasionally abbreviated CGI is a bu ...

sheeting. The former bar has built-in cupboards with small paned glass doors while other door fanlights are rectangular small panes. The kitchen wing forms a separate brick wing and comprises a large centre kitchen with ovens, fireplace, dining room and laundry, linked to the main house by a single verandah. The stables are in the form of a large rectangular building constructed of rubble

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

and dressed

quoins Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...

and

lintels A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

. The doorways are spanned by well-designed three-centred arches, the centre one leading to the coach space and the others to stable and feed and harness room with hayloft over. In the grounds there is a stone privy. The rubble front fence is built from stones of John Blackman's house in the Hartley Valley. The land comprises of predominantly cleared grazing land with a gently undulating fall from the road commencing from behind the barn. There are many fine mature trees in the grounds.Fairway & Sheedy 1975

Condition

Physical condition is fair. Archaeological potential is medium.

Modifications and dates

Between 1856 and 1858 the inn complex was constructed. The initial complex included and inn, stables, privy and kitchen block. Between 1910 and the 1930s additional timber outbuildings and services for the separate portions of the property were constructed. An iron garage was constructed s. A new stone fence was built on the front boundary . In 1940 a spring fed dam was constructed and the garden was enlarged. . Construction of a new bathroom between the kitchen wing and the main building took place and the kitchen was moved to the main building.Lavelle 1993:31

Heritage listing

As at 1 October 1997, Fernhill is of State significance as an inn dating from the mid-nineteenth century that once formed a part of a chain of other inns stretching from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to the Western Goldfields. It is significant as a group of well constructed buildings set in extensive grounds demonstrating the pattern of land settlement and travel during the late nineteenth century. Fernhill is significant for the collection of makeshift furniture made at and for Fernhill. ''Fernhill'' was listed on the

on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. ''Fernhill'' is historically significant because it once formed part of an important link in the chain of wayside inns that stretched from Sydney to the Western Goldfields. Together with other inns it is a major component of the pattern of land settlement, transport and travel that characterised development along the Western Road, from the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1815 to the opening of the railway to Lithgow in the 1860s.Moore & Walker 1993:7 The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. Fernhill is of aesthetic significance because it is a well crafted early colonial Georgian roadside inn complete with fine stone barn and other outbuildings, situated in beautiful grounds. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. ''Fernhill'' is of social significance because it was built by a prominent family of early settlers in the district. It is also associated with major families in its district, that have been resident in the Lithgow, Bowenfels,

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales *Hartley, South Australia **Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada *Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom *Hartley, Cumbria *Hartley, Plymou ...

area from the early eighteenth century to present, and who have a continuing association and concern about the welfare of Fernhill. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. ''Fernhill'' is of research significance for the wealth of information available about the place, through primary documents, through recollections of the associated family and particularly through the building fabric furniture, contents, garden and grounds.

References

Bibliography

* * *

Attribution

{{NSW-SHR-CC, name=Fernhill, dno=5045000, id=00225, year=2018, accessdate=1 June 2018

External links

Recent photos and description of Fernhill, Bowenfels
at realestate.com.au New South Wales State Heritage Register Bowenfels, New South Wales Buildings and structures in New South Wales Pubs in New South Wales Houses in New South Wales Hotels in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register