James Houison

1800-1876

PARRAMATTA’S FORGOTTEN ARCHITECT

Front Cover: The Church of All Saints’, Victoria Road, Parramatta North, (Marsfield). Designed by James Houison and constructed with his partner, Nathaniel Payten, completed 1861.

J McClymont, 2005

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations v

A Building Timeline ix

Abbreviations x

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 1800-1832 bRED to building 1-7

Part 1 Nairn, Scotland and London, England

Part 2 To the shores of Botany Bay

Chapter 2 1832-1835 IN THE FAR SHADE OF

Regency LONDON 8-34

Part 1 Verandahs for John Verge and the luminaries

Part 2 The Vineyard (Cottage), Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur

and James’ marriage to Ann Stark

Part 3 The New Vineyard (Vineyard House), 1835-1837

Part 4 A new name for The New Vineyard – Subiaco

Part 5 Settling in Parramatta

Chapter 3 1836-1840 FOR LAW AND ORDER 35-59

Part 1 Elegant and artistic buildings for St Patrick

Part 2 A new gaol for the Parramatta district

Part 3 Apprentice Nat Payten becomes a master mason

Part 4 Carpenters, quarrymen and stonemasons needed

to build a gaol for partners James Houison and

Nat Payten

Part 5 ‘providing the materials and executing the masons…’

Part 6 A chapel and a church plan – St Augustine and St

Stephen

Chapter 4 1840-1845 WEATHERING THE STORM 60-89

Part 1 Depressed times – real estate, mortgages

– much work, good results

Part 2 The Methodist Centenary Church, Church Street,

North Parramatta, 1841

Part 3 Town houses for the partners – Tara and Kia Ora

Part 4 Pure water for Parramatta – the Hunts Creek Dam

Part 5 A villa with a view - Wavertree

Part 6 Perth House (originally Rose Cottage), 85 George

Street, c1841-45

Chapter 5 1845-1850 GOTHIC CHALLENGES 90-104

Part 1 Tenders will be received for the erection of

a church at Newlands, North Parramatta

– All Saints’

Part 2 A colonnade and verandah at Newington for John

Blaxland

Part 3 Dr Anderson's Town House, Macquarie Street, 1846

Part 4 A committee man - an architect amongst the

landowners and magistrates – the Parramatta

Hospital

Chapter 6 1850-1855 PROSPEROUS TIMES 105-120

Part 1 A villa for North Parramatta - Endrim

Part 2 Repairs and reports - leaking roofs and termites

Part 3 Dr Anderson’s drinking fountains

Part 4 A new church on old towers for St John's

Part 5 A fellow Scot – David Lennox

Chapter 7 1855-1860 VILLAS, CHURCHES

AND SCHOOLS 121-139

Part 1 Another villa for North Parramatta

- Morton House

Part 2 A parish school for St John’s Church

Part 3 A schoolhouse and residence for All Saints’

Part 4 A design by A.W.N. Pugin – a larger Church

for St Patrick

Part 5 A villa in the south - Harborne

Chapter 8 1860-1870 A CORPORATION ALDERMAN 140-158

Part 1 Corporation meetings in the Court House

Part 2 Timber shelters in the Parramatta Asylum

Part 3 Other building works in Parramatta

Part 4 ‘An interesting stone building by Lennox Bridge’ –

Bond House

Part 5 Minor matters

Part 6 A ‘country villa’ – for his home town – Nairn Cottage

Part 7 More verandahs - and a summer house – Rouse Hill

Part 8 More minor works

Chapter 9 1870-1876 LAST DAYS 159-162

Part 1 ‘goodness and mercy…shall surely follow me’

Chapter 10 THE FAMILY 163-182

Part 1 The storytellers and the links

Appendices:

A. Last Will and Testament of James Houison 183

B. The Partnership – Deed of Partition 189

C. A brief genealogy of the Houison family 193

D. The Houison Ledger 1840-50 197

E. Select Bibliography 199

Acknowledgments 205

Index 207

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

James Houison, c1875 xiv

Map of Scotland 2

Map of Nairn 2

Capt. Phillip Parker King 5

Anna Josepha King 6

Gov. Philip Gidley King 6

Orwell House, Woolloomooloo Hill 9

Goderich Lodge 11

Barham 12

Vineyard Cottage 14

Vineyard Cottage, c1798 15

Vineyard Cottage 16

Vineyard Cottage 17

Gateside Inn, near Perth, Scotland 18

Ann (Stark) Houison 19

Sketch maps of Vineyard Farm and Subiaco 20

Vineyard’s entrance and stair hall 21

Plan of The Vineyard Cottage 22

The Vineyard stables 23

The Garden Cottage 23

Subiaco Convent 25

Subiaco 26

Vineyard columns and Inner doors 27

Bateman house 28

St Andrew’s Kirk 30

Lots 1 and 2 in Phillip Street 31

First church of St Patrick 36

Second St Patrick’s 37

King’s sandstone gaol of 1802 39

Barney’s radiating cell-block plan of 1835 41

Nathaniel Payten Snr 42

Susannah Payten 42

Land plan re Payten’s inn 44

Mortimer Lewis’ plan of the Court House 50

Court House 51

Court House details 52

St Augustine chapel at Newington 54

St Stephen the Martyr Church, Penrith 55

Harvey’s or Dare’s Mill 61

Perth House, later Tara 63

Dr Isaac Phipps Waugh 65

Tara 66

Tara just prior to demolition 67

64 Macquarie Street, Parramatta (Kia Ora) 70

Location sketch map of Parramatta water supply 74

Dam for Parramatta water supply 75

Lake Parramatta Reserve 76

Marsden family’s subdivision of the Newlands Estate 79

1859 proposed subdivision 80

Marsden’s Rangihou 81

Wavertree 81

Perth House 83

Perth House details 84

Perth House details 85

Plans for church at Newlands (All Saints) 92

All Saints’ Church, 1863 94

Newington 95

Parramatta Colonial (later District) Hospital 96

Hambledon Cottage, c1960 97

Map showing location of Edgeworth 99

Rose Cottage 100

Edgeworth 100

Rev. William Gore 105

Endrim 107

Endrim details 108

Dr Anderson drinking fountain 111

St John’s Church, 1803 plan 112

Mrs Macquarie’s painting of St John’s in early 1810 113

St John’s Church, 1818 plan 113

St John’s Church, Houison’s plans 114

St Mary the Virgin Church, Iffley, England 115

St John’s Church, west door 115

St John’s Church, interior 115

St John’s Church 116

Houison Memorial window 117

David Lennox’s home 118

Morton House 123

Morton House details 124

St John’s Grammar School 125

All Saints’ Schoolhouse 127

Modified All Saints’ Schoolhouse 128

Third church for St Patrick 129

Steeple addition to St Patrick’s 131

Fourth St Patrick’s church 132

Cathedral of St Patrick 133

Harborne 135

Harborne birdbath 136

Harborne details 137

James and Ann Houison, c1864 140

Hustings outside Parramatta Court House 141

Elder House 142

Parramatta Asylum shelter shed 143

Leigh Memorial Church 144

Bond House plans 146

Bond House 147

Nairn Cottage 149

Deskford 150

Nairn Cottage 151

St Barnabas Church 151

Rouse Hill House verandah columns 152

Rouse Hill House west service wing 153

Rouse Hill House bath house 154

Rouse Hill House summer-house 154

Dr Richard Greenup 156

Margaret Houison 164

Foundation stone of Margaret Houison Hall 165

Jessie (Stark) Cretnay 165

Alexander Houison 166

Fanny (Roberts) Houison 166

Location map of Pennant Street Bridge 167

Annie Evelyn Houison 168

James Houison (b1866) 168

Town Dam 169

David Houison 169

Annie and Hugh Fairclough 170

James Houison 172

Kate (Small) Houison 172

Richard Houison 173

Jessie Houison 173

Dr Andrew Houison 174

James Keith Solling Houison 177

Gwenda Solling Houison 178

John McClymont 206