Hornseywood Avenue Conservation Area

Item details


Name of item:	Hornseywood Avenue Conservation Area
Type of item:	Conservation Area
Group/Collection:	Residential buildings (private)
Category:	Cottage
Primary address:	Brown, Derby and Castlereagh Street, Penrith, Penrith, NSW 2750
Local govt. area:	Penrith

Boundary:

Shown by an outline and identified as "HCA1"

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Brown, Derby and Castlereagh Street, Penrith	Penrith	Penrith			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The Hornseywood Conservation Area is distinguished by its brick and timber cottages of the late-Victorian, federation and inter-war eras. The buildings in this area are one of a number of structures in Penrith erected over the nineteenth century and early part of the twentieth century that demonstrate the evolution of suburban settlement in this locality.
	Date significance updated: 16 Jan 06
	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:

Derby, Brown, and Castlereagh Streets have a large group of weatherboard and brick cottages in the Victorian, Federation and California Bungalow styles which provide interesting representative examples of the period, and collectively provide a sense of a historic streetscape at the elevated eastern edge of the town. These are generally well maintained and represent the type of working class housing built within Penrith during this important period of growth and consolidation. Infill development has continued, and until the recent encroachment of flats, has generally been of an appropriate form and scale. Brown, Castlereagh Street and Derby Street includes simple Victorian weatherboard cottages, small Californian Bungalows, Edwardian timber cottage. These houses are well maintained and display a good retention of their original external detailing. Two streetscapes have been identified below separately for their representation of particular periods of development, and as good examples of the range of housing styles used:

1) The east and west side of Castlereagh Street around the intersection with Derby Street retains a streetscape which includes a number of late Victorian and inter-war cottages. This is a relatively low-lying area of Penrith in close proximity to the traditional CBD of High Street. The houses are generally set close to the street with limited front garden areas. The cottages were erected over the late nineteenth century through to the inter-war years. The group display a range of architectural styles and materials that are representative of the respective eras of building. All the identified historic houses share a modest scale.

2) Derby Street retains a streetscape that includes a number of late Victorian and Inter-war cottages. This is an undulating area of Penrith and the street is one of the main historic thoroughfares to neighbouring Kingswood. The houses are generally setback from the street and have front garden areas. The noted historic cottages were erected over the late nineteenth century through to the inter-war years. The group display a range of architectural styles and materials that are representative of the respective eras of building. The identified historic houses have a mix of building scale and are mostly single storey.

History

Historical notes:

This conservation area was originally part of the Hornseywood estate subdivision of the 1880s. It was part of a grant of land made to John Best by Governor Macquarie in 1814. Best managed to retain the 470 acres Hornseywood grant until around 1828. The muster of 1822 noted 10 acres of his grant were under cultivation and 40 acres cleared, together with 36 cattle and two horses. The estate was bought by another emancipist, John Tindale. Tindale was active in development of Penrith building the Rose Inn and other residences from the 1830s. It is through Tindale that the first church reserves at Penrith were established and a number of public hotels were also erected within the Hornseywood estate during Tindale’s lifetime including the Kentish Arms (1830s), Fox and Hounds and Penrith Hotel (1847). Tindale died in 1857, and the estate was initially released for subdivision (DP175) in 1863 to the south of the railway station and again on several occasions in the 1880s; the first in 1885 comprised 507 acres south of the main road with one mile of frontage to High Street. Named the Great Hornseywood Estate the subdivision provided business allotments fronting High Street, and villa and cottage sites on the gently rising slopes, and orchards and dairy farms to an area of 20 acres..

The subdivision pattern of this area was principally defined when it was released as a major suburban land release of the nineteenth century. The Hornseywood freehold subdivisions (DP1855) of the 1880s to the south of High Street between Woodriff Street and Parker Street are generally intact in areas where cottage blocks were offered and where development occurred in the more elevated areas. The larger homestead blocks have been re-subdivided.

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The houses demonstrate the range of working class cottages erected in Penrith over the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The houses are good examples of their type and reflect evolving architectural styles and construction materials.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The Derby Street Conservatin Area is distinguished by its number of brick and timber cottages of the late-Victorian and Inter-War eras. The buildings are one of a number of structures in Penrith erected over the nineteenth century and early part of the twentieth century that demonstrate the pattern of suburban settlement in this flood free area.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

1) In order to avoid future loss of distinctive characteristics due to demolition of original historic or contributory buildings and their replacement with unsympathetic structures, the area should be given statutory protection as a matter of priority (such as identification in a Draft LEP as a Conservation Area) 2) Heritage Items and Contributory items - to be retained and conserved, these sites should not be subdivided for infill development. 3) New development should reflect the scale, massing, setbacks and form of existing buildings. New development should preferably not replicate historical styles but provide new design solutions of high quality that complement and add to the visual amenity and quality of the area 4) An appropriate curtilage should be retained in relation to the streetscapes and significant buildings. 5) Garden settings and significant landscape elements including large trees and deep rooted vegetation are to be retained. 6) Variable front setnacks to be retained. 7) Owners of buildings identified as Heritage Items should be encouraged over time to recover the significant form of those building by removal of intrusive elements. 8) Additions to buildings should not adversely impact on the single storey scale of the development that characterises the area. 9) Any new development within the Conservation Area must be appropriate in its scale, form, materials and landscaping.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date
Local Environmental Plan	Penrith Local Environmental Plan 2010	HCA1	22 Sep 10
Heritage study	Warwick/Derby Street Residential Group	P-33	01 Apr 87
Heritage study		2260239	01 Nov 07

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
	0	P 33b			No
Penrith Heritage Study Review	2005		Paul Davies Pty. Ltd.		Yes

References, internet links & images

None

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2260239

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