Lydham Hall was opened on Feb 21 1971 to celebrate the Centenary of Rockdale Municipality. The building was purchased by Council in 1970 to save it from demolition. It was intended to be a House Museum. The physical property is the responsibility of Council, now Bayside Council.
The St Historical Society Inc was to manage the Museum, its contents and to serve as volunteers for house openings and tours. We are looking forward to holding exhibitions at the House, special functions such as Christina Stead Day and maybe to use the House for special occasion photography.
Both the purchase of the Lydham Estate and the loan of the Holbeach furniture to Council can be credited to the efforts of former long serving Alderman and later Councillor Ron Rathbone, who passed away in early 2007.
Miss Holbeach C 1890-1971 was a housekeeper in the Richardson family, when they rented Tempe House. The Richardsons bequeathed the furniture to Miss Holbeach, who in turn bequeathed it to the National Trust NSW the furniture is largely from the Victorian period.
The Museum’s contents largely reflect the history of free settlers from the United Kingdom and Ireland
The story of Lydham Hall has been told many times since Gifford Eardley’s work prior to 1974. Due to further research during 2023, the history is likely to be updated during this year.
The area, now occupied by Lydham Hall formed part of an estate, Bexley Estate made by Governor Brisbane to James Chandler during August 1822. It changed ownership several times until it came into the ownership of Joseph Davis, from Sussex in England. The land was purchased on November 1 1859 and the deed was registered at the Registrar Generals on August 2 1860.
The property was named Lidham Hill after Joseph Davis’s grandfather’s farm in Guestling, Sussex, England.
Joseph Davis was a master butcher with retail premises in Newtown and a slaughter house he built on Wollongong Road, Arnclife. He used part of Lydham Hall Estate in connection with his business. The land between Herbert St and Clarence Road was used to fatten his cattle.
Many books repeat the fact that the house was built in 1860, the year after the land was purchased in 1859. It is now known from historical sources that this Victorian era home could not have been built until the late 1870’s.
The early Victorian two storey stone house was erected on the crest of Lidham Hill. This was one of the highest ridges between Cooks River from which a view eastwards is to be had of Botany Bay and its opposing headlands with the Pacific Ocean on the horizon.
Lydham Hall was originally approached by a private driveway from Gannons Forest Road, which ended at the front of the house in a circular fashion for the easy reversal of vehicles. A road also led to the coach house and stables.
When Joseph Davis gave his house warming party, his friends came in their carriages and other horse drawn vehicles. The Lydham Hall Mazurka was composed in honour of the event.
The design is a good example of the transition from the simplicity of the Georgian colonial period of architecture, to the more ornate style of themed Victorian era The wide centrally placed hall is flanked on either side by large rooms, each with a Italian Carrara marble fireplace.
The interior woodwork of the doorways, window surrounds, casement shutters, and skirting is hand polished Australian Cedar and flooring of New Zealand Kauri. A narrow staircase at the southern end of the hall reaches the upper room lit by nearby dormer windows.
The windows facing north, east and south are of the full length French pattern – French Doors. This was to take advantage of the breezes. The windows facing west are of the sliding sash patterned -small in area to keep the westerlies at bay. The windows are backed by louvered shutters of the 1860’s style.
Joseph Davis married Ellen Turner in 1850. They had seven children Austen, Jane, Joseph, Charlotte, Amy, Frederick and Herbert Davis.
In later years, 1884 and then 1889, when the Lydham Hill Estate was being subdivided into housing allotments, the streets were named after members of the family. The authorities renamed Joseph St as Lydham Avenue.
Joseph Davis died in 1889 at Bexley. Lydham Hall was sold to Frderick Gibbins, a wealthy merchant, who lived at nearby Dappeto.
Lydham Hall then came under a series of tenants, one of whom was David Stead. The Longs owned the property from 1958 until Council’s purchase in 1970.
Radio Interview.
When Anne spoke about the history of the house, she mentioned that when Joseph Davis died the house was ultimately sold. One of the notable people, who lived there from 1907 to 1917, was David Stead, a scientist who studied fish – some of his articles on different types of Australian fish are still quoted. He also co-founded the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia in 1909 and in 1910 he became on the strength of his scientific publications, the youngest member of the Linnaean Society- promoted to Superintendent of Investigations at the Fisheries Commission – all without a high school education!
David’s second marriage to Ada Gibbins, whose father Frederick had bought Lydham Hall and had previously lived at Dapetto. This is a fine house which is part of the Salvation Army retirement village on Wollongong Rd. David had a daughter from his first marriage, Christina who lived at Lydham hall, and later became a well-known novelist. Her most famous novel is “The Man Who Loved Children” which is her story of their family life – partly at Lydham, partly at Boongarre Watson’s Bay with her father, stepmother and step brothers and sisters. And it later shifted to an American setting, as she was living in the United States when she wrote it. She went to Bexley Public School and St. George Girls High Kogarah, when it opened in 1916. She recounted that the house had many trees, outbuildings and David’s menagerie: guinea pigs, tortoise, mice rabbits a duck an echidna, snakes and two emus raised from chicks.
None of these are present now! Of course the grounds are much reduced, and the out building gone. The house itself remained open to the public since 1971. It was closed for roof repairs in late 2019. Apart from the novel, she wrote short reminiscences about her life at Lydham Hall and referred to it fondly in her letters. Of course the grounds are now much reduced and the outbuildings gone but the house itself remains and has been open to the public since 1971 until it had to be close dfro roof repairs in late 2019.
The St. George Historical Society, and the members who’ve been volunteering at Lydham Hall, are very excited to be able to open the rooms to the public for the first time since 2019 on Sunday February 4 2024. When Bayside Council gave us the keys in August 2023, we were faced with a somewhat daunting task – all the objects from the upstairs museum had been removed and put in boxes while the roof was fixed, a lot of the furniture and been moved and there was dust everywhere!
So one day per week for the next 5 months, up to ten volunteers at a time dusted, washed and polished all the wooden windows, doors, floors and indoor furniture. Silver trophies were polished, marble fireplaces were cleaned and chandeliers were cleaned. Outdoors -wooden seats were cleaned and polished, the Coledale chairs and tables scraped and painted, the outdoor toilets were cleaned and painted thanks to the Fixit sisters, and the outside was power washed to clean away the grime. A shout out to the Council garden staff, who have the gardens looking great for the opening. When that was done the rooms had to be set up again – more furniture shifting and arranging objects by our hard working curator.
So now we have five rooms for the public to see on Sunday – bedroom, dining room, sitting room, kitchen and small Local History Room, which features information boards about the history of local suburbs. The house will be open from 10am to 4pm this Sunday February 4 2024 and the first Sunday of every month, and we hope many of your listeners will be visiting.
