ELIZABETH FARM, RECONSTRUCTING A BUILDING SEQUENCE. Dr. Ted Higginbotham Edward Higginbotham & Associates Pty Ltd www.higginbotham.com.au
A History and a Guide, 1984. The traditional view. Mrs. Elizabeth Macarthur to her mother, 22 August 1794. a very excellent brick Building. 68 Feet in length, & 18 Feet wide, independent of Kitchen and Servants Apartments. Mr. John Macarthur to his brother, quoted by Elizabeth: a most excellent brick House 68 Feet in front & 18 in breadth. It has no upper story, but consists of Four rooms on the Ground Floor, a large Hall, closets, cellar & - adjoining is a Kitchen, with Servants Apartments, and other necessary Offices. Extensive archaeological and architectural investigations undertaken during the restoration of the house have failed to establish the exact form of this cottage. Guide, 1984.
A History and a Guide, 1984. The Mrs. Elizabeth Macarthur to her mother, 22 August 1794. a very excellent brick Building. 68 Feet in length, & 18 Feet wide, independent of Kitchen and Servants Apartments. Mr. John Macarthur to his brother, quoted by Elizabeth: a most excellent brick House 68 Feet in front & 18 in breadth. It has no upper story, but consists of Four rooms on the Ground Floor, a large Hall, closets, cellar & - adjoining is a Kitchen, with Servants Apartments, and other necessary Offices. traditional view.
A History and a Guide, 1984. The traditional view. Mrs. Elizabeth Macarthur to her mother, 22 August 1794. a very excellent brick Building. 68 Feet in length, & 18 Feet wide, independent of Kitchen and Servants Apartments. Mr. John Macarthur to his brother, quoted by Elizabeth: a most excellent brick House 68 Feet in front & 18 in breadth. It has no upper story, but consists of Four rooms on the Ground Floor, a large Hall, closets, cellar & - adjoining is a Kitchen, with Servants Apartments, and other necessary Offices. Two early additions were made : an extra bedroom behind the drawing room, (making an L-shaped house), and verandahs. Guide, 1984.
A History and a Guide, 1984. The traditional view. Mrs. Elizabeth Macarthur to her mother, 22 August 1794. a very excellent brick Building. 68 Feet in length, & 18 Feet wide, independent of Kitchen and Servants Apartments. Mr. John Macarthur to his brother, quoted by Elizabeth: a most excellent brick House 68 Feet in front & 18 in breadth. It has no upper story, but consists of Four rooms on the Ground Floor, a large Hall, closets, cellar & - adjoining is a Kitchen, with Servants Apartments, and other necessary Offices. The 1793 roof covered only the parlour, the hall, and presumably, the bedroom (later to become the dining room). Guide, 1984.
History in a house. John Macarthur, baptised 3 September 1767. Arrived as lieutenant with NSW Corps in June 1790. Regimental paymaster, 1792, Inspector of Public Works, 1793 - moved to Parramatta - builds Elizabeth Farm. Promoted to Captain, 1795. Arrested in 1801, sent to England for court martial. Trial aborted. John Macarthur. Statement of the Improvement and Progress of the Breed of Fine Woolled Sheep in New South Wales (London 1803). Resignation from NSW Corps. Grant of 5,000 acres, purchased merino sheep. Return to NSW in 1805 Deposition of Governor Bligh by Major George Johnson, 26 January 1808. Departure for England to defend Johnson, 23 March 1809. Fear of arrest prohibited return to NSW. Developed interests in wool - visit to Europe, 1815-1816. Conditional permission granted to return to NSW in 1817. Society of Arts gold medals for wool, in 1822 and 1824. Grant of additional 5000 acres at Camden in 1822 - the first agricultural establishment in the Colony. Establishment of Australian Agricultural Company in 1824, capital 1,000,000. Appointed to newly formed Legislative Council in 1825, reappointed from 1829-1832. Declared a lunatic in 1832, died 11 April 1834. John & Elizabeth Macarthur Source. DUAP. In NSW from 1790-1801 1805-1809 1817 - d.1834
Archaeological excavation, 2007 Unexpected findings. E wall of Drawing Room continues into Main Bedroom.
Archaeological excavation, 2007 Unexpected findings. Back wall of Hall butts up against W wall of Main Bedroom.
Archaeological excavation, 2007 Unexpected findings. Back wall of Dining Room continues west into alcove.
Further investigation, 2007 Mortar sampling. Samples taken from locations causing minimum disturbance of fabric. Mortar Types 2, 3 and 4. Mortar Type 5. 2 3 4 5
Mortar Type 2 is the most primitive, with no shell lime or horse hair. Mortar Types 3, 4 and 5 all contain shell lime and horsehair. Possible conclusion - Type 2 is the earliest mortar. Type 4 mortar represents a weatherproofing of the earlier walls. Type 5 is associated with the 1826 extension work. Mortar Types
A new building sequence. Type 2 mortar is limited to Main Bedroom and back wall of Hall. Type 4 mortar is used on exterior surfaces of Type 2 walls for weatherproofing. Type 5 mortar shows extent of rebuilding of Drawing Room, Hall and Dining Room. Type 5 mortar also associated with 1826 extensions. This sequence consistent with jointing of walls.
A chimney s piece. The chimneys provide supporting evidence for the sequence of building. Question - Which chimneys should be painted? Or - Which chimneys were outside the roof and needed weatherproofing?
Further Evidence. The evidence suggests the Bedroom Wing is the earliest surviving part of the house. It was also probably built with the main rooms in 1793. Evidence: 1. The original roof shows no evidence of extension. 2. The Drawing Room chimney is built with Type 2 mortar, not weatherproofed and not painted. 3. The chimney was altered with Type 5 (1826) mortar at the roof line.
Evidence. 4. The Main Bedroom chimney is bonded with Type 4 mortar for weatherproofing and painted. 5. The chimney was doubled in size for the 1826 extensions, bonded with Type 5 mortar and left unpainted. Further Evidence.
Further Evidence. The chimney for the Dining Room shows no alterations, even though the Oak Room is known to be an 1826 extension. Alterations not expected, if the Dining Room was rebuilt and the Oak Room constructed at the same time - 1826.
Historical evidence. Elizabeth to Eliza Kingdon, 4 September 1821. For our poor Parramatta House is tumbling down it is quite a ruin. John to Edward Macarthur, 12 September 1826. I wish you could see me writing this/ seated in the old Bed Room, now transformed into a handsome Library of twenty six feet in/ lengththe addition has been obtained by taking/ in the verandah, a foot has also been found/ by lowering the Floors. We are occupying the/ old drawing Room as a dining Room adjoining to which is a prattle (sic) Conservatory or plant(s) room/ nine feet Square. The Hall will be completed/ in another Week and the verandah in about three Weeks-The drawing Room is twenty seven/ feet long. the Hall the same as before with an addition of one foot to its heighth (sic) the dining Room/ must remain unfinished until the offices/ are completed which will I fear take three/ months more. Elizabeth to John Macarthur, junior, 25 March 1827. I am kept away because there is no bedroom finished which I could occupy with any comfort. The alterations are however proceeding. Because of the extent of rebuilding in 1826, evidence for the lowering of the floor is most likely to be restricted to areas adjacent to the early walls (Main Bedroom & S walls of Drawing Room and Hall).
The roof alone remains. James to John Macarthur, junior, 17 May 1827. the roof alone remains of the Cottage it formerly sheltered. Consistent with the extensive rebuilding of the main house. An architectural conundrum. How was the roof supported during the 1826-1827 rebuilding? What does the vertical timber post in the main bedroom tell us about the building of the house?
New evidence - Pre 1826 house. Evidence for verandahs derived from Oak Room and 1991 excavations. Evidence for verandah fill and 1793 wall from 2007 excavation. Further evidence from fabric and historical sources. Width of verandahs?
Pictures - Pre 1826 house. The Residence of John McArthur Esqre, near Parramatta, New South Wales, Joseph Lycett, published 1 April 1825. Source. State Library of Victoria.
Fabric - Pre 1826 house. Back Verandah. Bedroom chimney.
Fabric - Pre 1826 house. Proposed extension to Bedroom Wing.
Steam Engine Power - insanity Elizabeth to Edward Macarthur, 5 June 1832 About this Bedroom wing which is all we really want, or wish for in the way of accommodation. There has been at least fifty different Plans I know not how many artists consulted & partly employed the Ground marked out, in different ways over & over again foundations dug out. All sorts of letters & rubbish still no Building begins whether it will, I cannot tell. More money has been frittered away than it would have cost to put up the Building Your poor Father cannot do anything in a quiet orderly way The Steam Engine power is applied to the weariest trifle, when in this excited state of mind he takes very little sleep and keeps every person about him in a state of perplexity however this disorder had better be at Parramatta than at Camden and I hope it will be calmed down again. Elizabeth to Edward Macarthur, 3 July 1832. Your poor father occupies, the Library (formerly my Bedroom) a small sleeping room and a Dressing Room all in the East wing of the Cottage before I quitted home, his nights were fearfully unquiet. A plan for the ill-fated Bedroom Wing. Source. Historic Houses Trust. Elizabeth s comment about Steam Engine Power - an interesting reference to the Industrial Revolution, perhaps to the new Railway Mania, which had taken grip in the UK from 1829 onwards. The house now truly reveals the extent of John Macarthur s obsession for building in his last years.
The contribution of archaeology. Above ground archaeology - the investigation of building materials (bricks, mortar, plaster, timber, nails - any datable fabric). Previous studies include: Hyde Park Barracks, 1980. Dalwood House, Branxton, 1985. Old Government House, 1980s, by late Martin Davies. Now, Elizabeth Farm. Methodology can be applied to many historical buildings.
Acknowledgements Edward Higginbotham & Associates Pty Ltd would like to thank: The Historic Houses Trust. Helen Temple. Sue Hunt. Gary Crockett. Ross Heathcote. Rebecca Geraghty. Dave Wilson. Paul Daus. Alan Croker, Design 5 Architects.