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The Glebe lands of Bishopthorpe and St. Phillips [microform] : the case for preservation and restoration

Call Number
mc N 2225 JAFp HIST 559
Created/Published
Glebe, N.S.W. : The Glebe Society, [1973?]
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THE GLEBE LANDS OF  

BISHOPTHORPE AND ST. PHILLIP'S  

THE CASE FOR PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION  

INTRQWCTIQN:  

The Glebe lands of Bishopthorpe and St. Phillips  

form the easternmost areas of the Sydney suburb of  

Glebe and are bounded mainly by Parramatta Road, St.  

Johns Road and Cowper Street. This preliminary  

report seeks to establish these areas as being of  

outstanding historical and architectural value and  

advocates the substantial preservation of the his-  

toric townscapes, the rehabilitation of most buildings  

and the careful and sympathetic construction of some  

new buildings.  

It is based on the assumptions that  

(a) the Western Expressway will not be built  

in this area;  

(b) Leichhardt Municipal Council's planning  

proposals, now being prepared, will  

encourage substantial preservation  

within the density codes proposed for  

the various areas of Glebe, and  

(c) the areas bordering Broadway, Parramatta  

Road and Arundel Street will be zoned  

for complete re-development.  

ARCHITECTURAL IMPORTANCE:  

The architectural importance of the area is of  

special kind. It does not consist of great houses  

or buildings of intrinsic architectural merit.  

Because of their unusual history as church property  

Bishopthorpe and St. Phillips have preserved, within  

an area large enough to continue to serve changing  

contemporary needs, the character of Australian town  

architecture of the third quarter of the nineteenth  

century that important but yet insufficiently under-  

stood period, between the gold rush of the 1850's and  

the building boom of the 1880's.  

Within the area, cottage types and terrace types  

of great importance for an understanding of the  

development of architecture in Australia have sur-  

vived. Set among them, in spacious, tree-lined  

streets, will be found, some larger houses, corner  

shops, former hotels and stores, together with an  

important group of church and public buildings in the  

vicinity of the corner of Glebe Point Road and St.  

Johns Road. Altogether the areas provide  

traditional community precinct unique to Sydney,  

which still possess vital community life today.  

With appropriate preservation, and some sympathetic  

development to increase the density of the areas,  

they could be made to serve the needs of the present  

day whilst retaining their traditional character as  

part of the nation's heritage.  

CHARACTER AND TOWNSCAPE VALUES:  

The distinctive character of Bishopthorpe and  

St. Phillips derives from their development mainly  

during the twenty years between 1855 and 1875. Due  

to the fact that the areas, including the streets,  

have remained under the control of single owner,  

they are still in substantially original condition.  

For this reason they are unique in Sydney and even in  

Australia.  

More important still, this architectural profile  

of past Sydney suggests even earlier periods in the  

nineteenth century. Building styles changed little in  

the thirty years before the building boom of the  

1880's and consequently many styles of the 1820's,  

30's and 40's were extensively used in the 1850's to  

1870's. Thus Bishopthorpe and St. Phillips contain  

not only the architecture of their time but also  

reflect the building styles existing in the city in  

the 1820's to 1840's, part of our heritage that has  

all but disappeared from the central city area. This  

fact can be substantiated by comparison of  

buildings in Joseph Fowles' "Sydney in 1848" (1) with  

close cousins still standing in The Glebe.  

This substantial reminder of our past history  

is thus valuable for several reasons and when viewed  

in relation to the mainly later development in the  

rest of Glebe, forms as complete picture of  

nineteenth century urban Australian architecture as  

can be found.  

Even when looked upon merely as townscape these  

glebe lands are, however, visually and architect-  

urally interesting. The strong grid pattern of its  

wide streets, its lanes and tree plantings combine  

with the low and regular profile of the buildings  

to form unity. The atmosphere is similar to that  

found in some of our older and better-preserved  

country towns and should be regarded as especially  

valuable in keeping sense of diversity within  

large, modern city.  

It should be noted that restoration of many  

missing architectural details would, of course,  

assist in more clearly delineating the historic image  

of these areas.  

Although Glebe was sub-divided into 28 allotments  

for the first public auction of land in Glebe in 1828,  

three contiguous lots nos. 7, and 28 were not  

offered for sale. Lots and were later handed over  

to the trustees of St. Phillip's Church, the income  

derived to be used for diocesan purposes. Lot 28 was  

set apart for the residence of the Archdeacon and all  

revenue derived from the area retained for the Church  

and School Corporation 'to and for the personal use  

and occupation of the Archdeacon of New South Wales  

and his successors forever'. It was first known as  

the Archdeaconry.  

When in 1836 Dr. W.G. Broughton was consecrated  

Bishop of Australia, the Archdeaconry became known as  

the Bishopthorpe Estate. In 1856 it was divided into  

238 allotments and offered on 99 year leases. Lots  

were retained for St. John's School and St. Barnabas'  

parsonage.  

The Bishopthorpe leases required all buildings  

to be constructed either of stone or brick. Other  

conditions prohibited the erection of more than two  

dwellings on an allotment and required buildings to  

face the main roads. No restrictions, however, were  

placed on the use to which buildings could be put.  

The subsequent erection of number of hotels resulted  

in later years in questions at Sydnod as to the  

propriety of the Church deriving income from such  

source. As result of the conditions imposed, the  

buildings erected were generally of good standard.  

contemporary description runs:  

"The sub-division has been on the most liberal  

scale the Streets being of the full proclaimed  

width of 66 ft. with lanes of 16*j ft. wide. The  

allotments have all 40 ft. frontages by depths  

(1) Joseph Fowles lived in Glebe Point Road  

from 1866 to 1871.  

Cite

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http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3416643318

APA citation

Glebe Society (N.S.W.) & National Library of Australia. (1973). The Glebe lands of Bishopthorpe and St. Phillips the case for preservation and restoration Retrieved March 4, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3416643318

MLA citation

Glebe Society (N.S.W.) and National Library of Australia. The Glebe lands of Bishopthorpe and St. Phillips the case for preservation and restoration Glebe, N.S.W: The Glebe Society, 1973. Web. 4 March 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3416643318>

Harvard/Australian citation

Glebe Society (N.S.W.) & National Library of Australia. 1973, The Glebe lands of Bishopthorpe and St. Phillips the case for preservation and restoration The Glebe Society, Glebe, N.S.W viewed 4 March 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3416643318

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  | author1=Glebe Society (N.S.W.).
  | author2=National Library of Australia.
  | title=Glebe lands of Bishopthorpe and St. Phillips : the case for preservation and restoration
  | year=1973
  | section=[2] p. ; 28 cm.
  | issue=559
  | location=Glebe, N.S.W
  | publisher=The Glebe Society
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3416643318
  | id=nla.obj-3416643318
  | access-date=4 March 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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