Vaucluse House is a historic estate in Gothic Revival

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 style in the harbourside suburb of Vaucluse

Vaucluse, New South Wales

Vaucluse is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Vaucluse is located north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Council and the Municipality of Woollahra....

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The suburb takes its name from this house. Vaucluse House is a 19th century estate with house, kitchen wing, stables and outbuildings, surrounded by 28 acres (9 hectares) of formal gardens and grounds. It is managed by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales as a museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 that is open to the public.

History

The original Vaucluse House was built by Sir Henry Brown Hayes

Henry Browne Hayes

Sir Henry Browne Hayes was an Irish-born convict, transported to New South Wales.Hayes was born in Ireland, the son of Attiwell Hayes. Hayes was admitted a freeman of the city of Cork in November 1782, was one of the sheriffs in 1790, and in that year was knighted...

, who had been transported to New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 in 1802 for kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy Irish banker’s daughter. Governor King

Philip Gidley King

Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...

 considered Hayes "a restless, troublesome character" and was keen to move him 3km away from Sydney. So in 1803 Hayes was granted permission to purchase the land and house, which was originally granted to Thomas Laycock in 1793 and Robert Cardell in 1795. An avid admirer of the 14th century poet Petrarch

Petrarch

Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...

, Hayes named the house after Petrarch's Fontaine de Vaucluse, the famous spring near the town l'Isle sur la Sorgue in what is today the Department of Vaucluse

Vaucluse

The Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...

 in the South of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. He built a small but charming cottage and several outbuildings. 50 acres (20 hectares) were cleared for agricultural purposes and several thousand fruit trees were planted, none of which survive. Newspaper accounts describe it as a small but very charming farm. There is some warrant for the story that Hayes surrounded his property with turf from Ireland to keep out the snakes. In 1812 Hayes was pardoned by Governor Macquarie

Lachlan Macquarie

Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...

 and sailed to Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 were he lived another 20 years. Ownership of the property became uncertain until it was acquired in 1822 by Captain John Piper.
The property was purchased at auction in 1827 by William Charles Wentworth

William Wentworth

William Charles Wentworth was an Australian poet, explorer, journalist and politician, and one of the leading figures of early colonial New South Wales...

 (1790-1872), explorer, journalist, barrister, politician and successful entrepreneur, for £1,500. By grant and additional purchases he increased his holdings to 515 acres (208 hectares) . Wentworth and his wife Sarah (née Cox), moved to the estate with their growing family in 1828 and carried out major building and ground work throughout the next 25 years of occupancy. Letters show that Wentworth's wife Sarah, the daughter of ex-convicts, was an astute manager of the Vaucluse estates. Accompanied by his family William Charles Wentworth left for England bearing the draft of a Constitution for Responsible Government, which he had co-written, in 1853. They then toured the continent, acquiring artworks and furniture much of which is seen in the house museum today. The family returned briefly in 1861-62, with a social success they had not previously enjoyed. After William's death in England his body was returned to the estate for burial in a nearby mausoleum (located in Chapel Rd, Vaucluse), having received the first State Funeral in New South Wales. His wife and eldest daughter then retained a life interest in the property. In 1900 the contents of the house were auctioned, then in 1911 the state itself was sold. Some 28 acres (9 hectares), including the house, formal garden and paddocks immediately surrounding the house, were acquired by the New South Wales Government in honour of Wentworth for use as a public park. In 1920 the house and grounds were opened to the public, administered by Trustees. Over the years many features of the historic property were subsumed as it developed the character of a 20th century municipal park. It was suggested that it be renamed 'Constitution House', 'Wentworth House' and even 'Wisteria House' in recognition of its past and of the vine that smothered its elevation in the 1920s and 30s, proving a tourist drawcard each September. In 1981 the property was transferred to the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales and significant restoration and conservation work started to recreate the original setting of Vaucluse House and its interiors. Today it is one of the few 19th century houses near the harbour retaining a significant part of its original setting. It is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register and the Register of the National Estate.

Ground floor

1. KITCHEN The kitchen is at the centre of the large two-storey service wing, constructed in 1829. As in most colonial houses, the service wing was a separate building to distance the risk of fire from the main house. Here the cook and her staff prepared all meals for family, guests and servants. The dresser, food safe and cast iron cooking range are original.

2. SCULLERY The scullery is where washing up was done. Dirty water was emptied into the slop drain.

3. DAIRY AND LARDER The dairy (for milk, butter and cheese preparation) and larder (for food storage) reflect the operation of Vaucluse as a self-sufficient colonial estate.

4. CELLARS The two-roomed cellars were used for the cool storage of food and wine. The inner room retains its arched brick bins for bottled wine while hooks for hanging salted and cured meats survive on the original lath and plaster ceilings.

5. HOUSEKEEPER’S ROOM The housekeeper’s room was the centre of domestic operations. The housekeeper was responsible for linen and the supervision of female domestic servants.

6. BUTLER’S PANTRY The pantry was an office strategically located for the head of the household staff to oversee activities in the house and arrivals at the property. Here lamps were cleaned, refuelled and wicks trimmed; and china, glass and silverware cleaned polished and stored.

7. FAMILY HISTORY ROOM In 1900 this room was used as a library. Today it houses an exhibition of the Wentworth family’s history.

8. BREAKFAST ROOM The breakfast room is in part of the house built from 1837 to 1840. Most large colonial houses had a second dining room for informal family use. The decorative paint scheme by the firm Lyon, Cottier & Co dates from the 1880s while the carved oak furniture was purchased by Fitzwilliam Wentworth in England in c1872.

9. DINING ROOM The dining room is hung with family portraits in keeping with early 19th century practice. The oak furniture belonged to the Wentworth family. The fine Gothic Revival sideboard and cupboards date from c1845 while the dining table and chairs (with their embossed Spanish leather upholstery) may have been part of a consignment of furniture sent from Europe in 1859. The floor of mid-19th century Italian glazed tiles is unusual and possibly a concession to the Australian climate. The chimney piece is of marble from Marulan in southern New South Wales.

10. LITTLE TEA ROOM The little tea room’s joinery suggests that it was one of Wentworth’s first additions to the house after 1828. It has been furnished to reflect its use as a small informal sitting room. Cool in summer, with French doors opening onto the eastern verandah, in winter the room’s small size ensured it was easily heated.

11. DRAWING ROOM The drawing room was formed partly within the walls of Sir Henry Browne Hayes original stone cottage and completed in 1847. The floral wallpaper border, plaster cornice, Italian marble fire surround and cast iron grate are all original. The drawing room was intended as a setting for potential suitors to meet the Wentworth daughters, owing to Sarah Wentworth’s social isolation. By 1853 when the original contents were sold before the Wentworth family’s departure for Europe, the room contained furniture in Brazilian rosewood with crimson damask upholstery. Today the room contains a collection of copies of old master paintings acquired by the Wentworth family in Italy, including copies of Flora after Titian, a Penitent Magdalene after Guido Reni and a Madonna and Child after Murillo.

First floor

12. SECOND ROOM The second room, as it was called in 1853, was a private family sitting room. The fireplace and grate are original. Furniture has been acquired based on an 1853 inventory of the house.

13. PRINCIPAL BEDROOM In 1853 the principal bedroom contained a winged wardrobe, chest of drawers and marble washstand. The four-post bed has been hung with a reproduction of a glazed chintz c1860 known to have been used in another Gothic Revival house, Greenoaks at Darling Point. The bed has the typical arrangement of three mattresses filled with straw, horsehair and feathers (bottom to top).

14. FITZWILLIAM’S ROOM IN THE HALL Vaucluse House was left incomplete in the mid-1840s and the large open upper hall was partitioned by cupboards to create a bedroom for Wentworth’s second son, Fitzwilliam.

Second floor

15. CHILDREN’S ROOM The nursery was probably used for the four youngest Wentworth children aged between five and twelve years in 1853. The room is furnished as a typical children’s room of the mid-19th century with children’s furniture and toys. The metal beds are hung with gauze mosquito nets.

16. MISS WENTWORTH’S ROOM Miss Wentworth’s room was named for the eldest unmarried Wentworth daughter. In 1853 it was shared by Sarah Eleanor and Eliza Sophia Wentworth.

External links

• Historic Houses Trust Vaucluse House