Bronte

Item details


Name of item:	Bronte
Type of item:	Built
Location:	Lat: -33.6072 Long: 150.7168
Primary address:	248 Castlereagh Road, Agnes Banks, NSW 2753
Local govt. area:	Hawkesbury

Boundary:

248 Castlereagh Road, Richmond, NSW, comprising the homestead, slab barn, well and mature trees.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
248 Castlereagh Road	Agnes Banks	Hawkesbury			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	Bronte comprises a homestead, mature trees, a well and a slab barn. It is locally significant as an example of a nineteenth century cattle farm providing evidence of rural industries and prosperity in the Hawkesbury River region (Criterion A.4). The homestead is locally significant as an example of a substantial vernacular rural homestead constructed of bonded face bricks which exhibits characteristics of the Victorian Regency style (Criterion D.2). The Bronte land was granted to Thomas Matcham Pitt, farmer and Hawkesbury pioneer, by Governor King in 1809. The property is also associated with descendants of the Thomas Pitt family who were settlers in the Hawkesbury region (Criterion H.1).
	Date significance updated: 29 Jan 98
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Physical description:	A substantial country residence of Flemish bonded face bricks, surrounded by a corrugated galvanised iron bellcast verandah on three sides. There is a Welsh Penrhyn slate roof on the main building as well as the two wings towards the rear of the house. There are four brick chimneys. Opening on to the verandah are shuttered French doors and an entry door with red etched side lights. All remaining windows are shuttered, including those looking into a courtyard at the rear of the house. In the courtyard some of the cast iron lacework still remains. Another corrugated iron verandah leads onto this area. The four main rooms of the house each have marble fireplaces (one white, three black) and all are in working order. The original kitchen fireplace is still intact. Cedar doors feature throughout. The pantry has timber from the wall to hallway. Some of the inside ceilings have timber panels. There is decorative iron work on the outside of a well this and two large concrete blocks cover the well and a hand pump comes out of the blocks. Seven very mature araucarias surround the home. A large slab barn is also located on the property. @@History: @@The original homestead Bronte is reported as being the old home of a branch of the Pitt family. The ruins of this homestead have been located on the property. The Pitt family in Australia descend from Mary Pitt, the widow of Robert Pitt. Robert Pitt died in England, leaving his wife and six children. Lord Nelson's influence enabled Mary to obtain free passage for herself and her family to New South Wales and the promise of a free land grant after arrival. She landed in Sydney in December 1801. Governor King gave Mary Pitt's eldest son, Thomas Matcham Pitt three grants of land which, in honour of their benefactor, they named Nelson Farm. The grant Bronte was made on 6 September 1809 and was named after Lord Nelson's English home. Mary Pitt died in 1815. The current home located on Bronte is the second homestead constructed on the property and appears to date from the middle or latter half of the nineteenth century. Bronte is clearly visible from Castlereagh Road. In 1997, the property, although surrounded by market gardens, is still used for cattle grazing, as was the original use of the property by Thomas Pitt. The slab barn is reported to belong to the first homestead called Bronte and is located in the vicinity of the present Bronte homestead. Bronte is situated opposite a forest, which stretches from Castlereagh Road to Londonderry Road. There are remnants of original trees on the property. On the flats four large trees (two English oaks and two white cedars) still stand. It appears that some renovation work was carried out to the interior of the home during the 1940s. During the 1940s the property was the home of the Melbourne Cup winner Foxami. Descendants of Mary Pitt are frequent visitors to the property who regard it as their ancestral home. The history of the family is part of an ongoing research project. The homestead, well and slab barn is classified by the National Trust and is on the Windsor Municipality's Local Environment Plan. @@
	Date condition updated:29 Jan 98

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Hawkesbury Local Environmental Plan 2012	I444	21 Sep 12

References, internet links & images

None

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	1741127
File number:	100907

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