''Windsor Gardens'' is a heritage-listed former residence, reception venue and now

retirement village A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves; however, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socializ ...

located at Chatswood, City of Willoughby,

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 in 1888. It is also known as Iroquois. The property is privately owned. 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.

History

''Windsor Gardens'' was built in 1888 by American journalist Frank Coffee, who arrived in Sydney in 1882 as a reporter for the '' New York Herald''. It was originally named ''Iroquois'' after an American battleship visiting Sydney at the time. During the early years,

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

was held each month in the drawing room of ''Iroquois'' for the local Catholic community by a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

from Riverview College. This was because there was no

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

between North Sydney and Pymble. The large Coffee family lived in the house until the late 1920s when it was sold to the Burke family. Frank Coffee passed away in 1929 at Kirribillli. His wife died in 1943. During his lifetime Frank Coffee made some forty to fifty trips around the Pacific and subsequently wrote and published his book ''Forty Years on the Pacific'' According to anecdotal evidence, Windsor Gardens was owned by John Adrian Burke from 1930 to 1945.pers comm In 1945 it was purchased by Allan Gilbert who renamed it ''Windsor Gardens'' and converted it into a venue for wedding receptions. On 13 May 1986 an Interim Conservation Order was made over ''Windsor Gardens'' to ensure that a retirement village development proposal was sympathetic to the significance of ''Windsor Gardens''. On 28 July 1988 a Permanent Conservation Order was placed over the property.

Description

A late Victorian, two-storeyed rendered brick house with a two-storey

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 ''vera ...

h and a four-storey tower. Interiors original finished in cedar and walnut imported from USA. Frank Coffee's initials were incorporated within the elaborate internal

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called pargeting. The process of ...

and staircase joinery, all of which survive. Much of the original garden survives including exotic trees, some of which were imported from Japan and California, partly obscure the house from the street.

Heritage listing

As at 28 November 2006, ''Windsor Gardens'' is a good example of a high Victorian gentleman's residence that was localed in the semi-rural, outer suburbs of the late nineteenth century of Sydney. It has retained much of its original detailing, both internally and externally. The house ad gardens as a reception centre played an important role in the lives of many people since the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was the home of a prominent early resident, Frank Coffee, and was an early centre of worship for the local Catholic community. ''Windsor Gardens'' was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

Gallery

Images following show the Italianate detailing on ''Windsor Gardens'': Image:(1)Windsor Gardens-5.jpg Image:(1)Windsor Gardens-6.jpg Image:(1)Windsor Gardens-7.jpg Image:(1)Windsor Gardens-8.jpg Image:(1)Windsor Gardens-9.jpg

References

Bibliography

Attribution

{{NSW-SHR-CC, name=Windsor Gardens, dno=5045391, id=00571, year=2018, accessdate=2 June 2018 New South Wales State Heritage Register Chatswood, New South Wales Retirement communities Houses in Sydney Event venues in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Houses completed in 1888 1888 establishments in Australia Italianate architecture in New South Wales