Greylands is a heritage-listed

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

at 47 Dennis Street, Indooroopilly, City of Brisbane,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It was designed by

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

and built . It was added to the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

The site was part of a parcel of land purchased by

Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior (13 November 1819 – 31 December 1892) was a pastoralist and politician in the colony of Queensland, now a state of Australia. He held the office of Postmaster-General in Queensland, Australia, whilst Member of the Q ...

in 1859. In 1876, his friend Graham Lloyd Hart, a city lawyer, purchased a subdivided portion of and in the following year built Greylands. It is likely that

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

architect John Hall designed the house. The family resided at Greylands until Hart's death in 1897 except for a period in the 1880s when they lived on

Wickham Terrace Wickham Terrace is one of the historic streets of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is known as the street of private medical specialists. Geography Wickham Terrace commences at the western corner of the intersection of Ann Street and Whar ...

. While it is unclear who owned the property next, it is likely that

Queensland National Bank The Queensland National Bank is a former bank in Queensland, Australia. History In 1872, the bank was established in Brisbane. In December 1914, the bank had its head office in Brisbane with branches throughout Queensland at Allora, Aramac, A ...

, which had been mortgagee for the Harts, took over the property. John Piper McKenzie, manager of the Bank's Brisbane Office lived there from 1900-1908. The next tenant was

David Lahey Lahey's Canungra Sawmill is a heritage-listed former sawmill at 10-26 Finch Road, Canungra, Queensland, Canungra, Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1884. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 March 2009. ...

, timber merchant, who leased the house from 1910-1912. His daughter

Vida Lahey Frances Vida Lahey MBE (1882—1968) was a prominent artist in Queensland, Australia. She exhibited widely from 1902 until 1965. Early life Frances Vida Lahey was born on 26 August 1882 at Pimpama, Queensland, the daughter of David Lahey and h ...

painted the Monday Morning laundry scene at Greylands which hangs in the

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Gallery ...

. The residence was bought by Bank employee Alfred Dennis in 1912 and the estate was gradually subdivided. Dennis is credited with demolishing the old wooden wings and stables at the back, with building a new extension of five rooms and providing the tennis court. On his death in 1944 the property was sold to Norman Pixley and ultimately to the Power family in 1984, who refurbished the property.

Description

The original portion of Greylands is a brick building, single-storeyed at the front and double at the rear. The plan is symmetrical about a wide hallway which features a central screen with double doors. Two rooms on the right are divided by a set of folding doors. On the other side of the hallway are two bedrooms. Joinery throughout is of cedar, and all fireplaces retain their mantelpieces of marble, grates and hearths. Floors in each room are edged in cedar. Original lath and plaster ceilings have been replaced, though plaster

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

s remain in all rooms. In the sub-floor at the rear are five small rooms which were used as servants' quarters and a laundry. Externally the house features a

fretwork Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly used ...

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

over the front steps. Wide

verandahs 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 ...

with cast-iron balustrading extend across the front and along two sides. The verandah roof is supported by paired verandah posts on brick

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

, and separated from the main

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, ...

of corrugated iron by a cornice with paired console

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

Heritage listing

Greylands was listed on the

on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. One of the earliest villa residences in the Indooroopilly area, and a dignified example of 1870s design, the house and its setting provide a glimpse into the way of life of Brisbane's professional and business families. In addition to its elegant exterior form, the house displays craftsmanship and detailing of a high standard including its cedar joinery and other interior decoration. Its appeal is enhanced by the retention of almost 5000 square metres of landscaped grounds which are free from urban intrusion. Greylands was the home of Graham Lloyd Hart, founder of law firm Flower & Hart which has been prominent in Brisbane legal circles since the 1870s. That this was the location of Vida Lahey's much admired painting of women working in the laundry, Monday Morning, adds social import to the house The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. One of the earliest villa residences in the Indooroopilly area, and a dignified example of 1870s design, the house and its setting provide a glimpse into the way of life of Brisbane's professional and business families. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. In addition to its elegant exterior form, the house displays craftsmanship and detailing of a high standard including its cedar joinery and other interior decoration. Its appeal is enhanced by the retention of almost 5000 square metres of landscaped grounds which are free from urban intrusion. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. Greylands was the home of Graham Lloyd Hart, founder of law firm Flower & Hart which has been prominent in Brisbane legal circles since the 1870s. That this was the location of Vida Lahey's much admired painting of women working in the laundry, Monday Morning, adds social import to the house

References

Attribution

External links

* {{cite web, url=http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/collection/queensland_heritage/vida_lahey2 , title=Vida Lahey: Monday Morning, 1912 , publisher=

, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504010048/http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/collection/queensland_heritage/vida_lahey2 , archive-date=4 May 2015 , url-status=dead , accessdate=25 November 2014 , df=dmy-all Queensland Heritage Register Indooroopilly, Queensland Houses in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register