Merton (New South Wales)
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| Merton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Heritage boundaries | |
| Location | 4883 Jerrys Plains Road, Denman, Muswellbrook Shire, New South Wales, Australia |
| Coordinates | 32°23′39″S 150°43′09″E / 32.3941°S 150.7191°E |
| Built | 1825–1910 |
| Official name | Merton |
| Type | State heritage (complex / group) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 159 |
| Type | Homestead Complex |
| Category | Farming and Grazing |
  Location of Merton in New South Wales  Merton (New South Wales) (Australia) | |
Merton is a heritage-listed former farm, horse stud, village settlement and residence and now residence at 4883 Jerrys Plains Road, Denman, Muswellbrook Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was built between 1825 and 1910; and it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[1]
Merton was a grant to Commander William Ogilvie who had served as a Midshipsman under Lord Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen and who retired from the Royal Navy to the Colony of New South Wales.[1]
He arrived with his wife and four children in 1825 and almost immediately applied for a grant of land in the Hunter Valley. He was allotted 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) near the present town of Denman, and named it Merton after the house of Lord Nelson in Surrey.[1]
The original Merton cottage built in 1826 was a small four-roomed cottage, whitewashed with an earthen floor. Later, wooden floors were laid. Room partitions were made of wooden at first, was eventually thatched. Sandstone for the cottage was quarried on the hillside behind.[1]
This homestead became the centre of the first village in the Upper Hunter Valley, possessing courthouse, church, school, cemetery, etc.[1]
William Ogilvie died in 1859 and the family leased the property until it passed into the White family (an outstanding pioneering dynasty) by 1875 and was owned by Reginald White in 1896 when described by H. Mackenzie in "Pastoralists and Producers". Reginald White built the second brick house which was extended at various times, particularly in 1910 for the visit of the Prince of Wales. Under the White family racehorses and cattle were bred here.[1]
In the last thirty years it has been owned by L. Porter (about 1950), then P. Feeney and since 1986 by the Carter family. Of the many buildings to survive are Merton Cottage c. 1825 (disused) and White's late nineteenth homestead - a complex of the highest significance. The Carter family have since been restoring the property from a previously abandoned and vandalised condition.[1]
Description
The site comprises two buildings, Merton Cottage, erected c. 1825 and now disused, originally earthen floors that have been replaced by wooden flooring, with wooden slab partitions, and sandstone walls.[1] The second building is the White family's late nineteenth homestead in the Victorian Filigree style.[1]
Modifications and dates
There have been a number of modifications, as follows:[1]
- 1826 – original cottage small four-roomed, whitewashed sandstone with an earthen floor.
- Later – wooden floors were laid. Room partitions were made of wood. Roof timber shingles at first, was eventually thatched.
- 1859 – c. 1880 bought by Reginald White. He built the second brick house which was extended at various times, particularly in 1910 for the visit of the Prince of Wales.[1]
Recent timber/metal deck skillion-roofed extensions to side. Verandah frieze modifications. Some painted brickwork.[2] Extensive demolition and restoration works in the past 10 years[1]
