History of the area

The Leichhardt area was originally inhabited by the Wangal clan of Aborigines. After 1788 diseases such as smallpox and the loss of their hunting grounds caused huge reductions in their numbers and they moved further inland. Since European settlement the foreshores of Blackwattle Bay and Rozelle Bay have developed a unique maritime, industrial and residential character - a character which continues to evolve as areas which were originally residential estates, then industrial areas, are redeveloped for residential units and parklands.^[1]

The first formal grant in the Glebe area was a 162-hectare (400-acre) grant to Rev. Richard Johnson, the colony's first chaplain, in 1789. The Glebe (land allocated for the maintenance of a church minister) comprised rolling shale hills covering sandstone, with several sandstone cliff faces. The ridges were drained by several creeks including Blackwattle Creek, Orphan School Creek and Johnston Creek. Extensive swampland surrounded the creeks. On the shale ridges, heavily timbered woodlands contained several varieties of eucalypts while the swamplands and tidal mudflats had mangroves, swamp oaks (Casuarina glauca) and blackwattles (Callicoma serratifolia) after which the bay is named. Blackwattle Swamp was first mentioned by surveyors in the 1790s and Blackwattle Swamp Bay in 1807. By 1840 it was called Blackwattle Bay. Boat parties collected wattles and reeds for the building of huts, and kangaroos and emus were hunted by the early settlers who called the area the Kangaroo Ground. Rozelle Bay is thought to have been named after a schooner which once moored in its waters.^[1]

Johnson's land remained largely undeveloped until 1828, when the Church and School Corporation subdivided it into 28 lots, three of which they retained for church use.^[3][1] The Church sold 27 allotments in 1828 - north on the point and south around Broadway. The Church kept the middle section where the Glebe Estate is now. On the point the sea breezes attracted the wealthy who built villas. The Broadway end attracted slaughterhouses and boiling down works that used the creek draining to Blackwattle Swamp. Up until the 1970s the Glebe Estate was in the possession of the Church. On the point the sea breezes attracted the wealthy who built villas. The Broadway end attracted slaughterhouses and boiling down works that used the creek draining to Blackwattle Swamp. Smaller working-class houses were built around these industries. Abbattoirs were built there from the 1860s.^[1]

When Glebe was made a municipality in 1859 there were pro and anti-municipal clashes in the streets. From 1850 Glebe was dominated by wealthier interests.^[1]

Reclaiming the swamp, Wentworth Park opened in 1882 as a cricket ground and lawn bowls club. Rugby union football was played there in the late 19th century. The dog racing started in 1932. In the early 20th century modest villas were broken up into boarding houses as they were elsewhere in the inner city areas. The wealthier moved into the suburbs which were opening up through the railways. Up until the 1950s Sydney was the location for working class employment - it was a port and industrial city. By the 1960s central Sydney was becoming a corporate city with service-based industries - capital intensive not labour intensive. A shift in demographics occurred, with younger professionals and technical and administrative people servicing the corporate city wanting to live close by. Housing was coming under threat and the heritage conservation movement was starting. The Fish Markets moved in in the 1970s. An influx of students came to Glebe in the 1960s and 1970s.^[4][1]

Reussdale

Ferdinand Reuss (1821–96) was active as an architect, builder and surveyor in Sydney in the 1870s and 80s.^[5] He trained as a civil engineer in the firm of Robert Stevenson, the great lighthouse engineer and grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson. As a young man he spent some time with the New York-Erie Railway as Resident Engineer until the discovery of gold in Australia attracted him to Victoria in 1851.^[1]

He soon moved to Sydney, however, and set up as an architect at 134 Pitt Street. By 1863 he was living in Hereford Street, Glebe, and about 1865 bought two parcels of land on either side of the Pyrmont Bridge Road in the vicinity of Woolley Street: 76 metres (250 ft) on the eastern and 40 metres (132 ft) on the western side. On these he built cottages, most of which he rented.^[1]

On the east side he built The Hermitage (154 Bridge Road), in which he lived from 1866 until his death in 1896; Hamilton (156 Bridge Road), now behind the Presbyterian Church hall and in a derelict state (1972), which he named after Sir William Hamilton, a distant relative; Alma Villa (158 Bridge Road), which was demolished by the Presbyterian Church when they re-erected their church here in 1927; and Reussdale (160 Bridge Road). On the other side of Bridge Road Reuss appears to have built the house at no. 177, and his family later built Hamilton Lodge (also named after Sir William Hamilton) in Woolley Street.^[1]

Reussdale was built by 1871 and probably dates to the later 1860s. There were/are no wells on the property, there being one on an adjacent property.^[6][1] Ferdinand Reuss died in 1896.

In 1927 the Presbyterian Church demolished 158 Bridge Road (Alma Villa) and moved their (dismantled) church here, which had been formerly located on the corner of Glebe Point Road and Parramatta Road.^[1] During the 1960s there were fires in the Abbey building, with damage to roof and ceilings.^[1] The site was allegedly vacant since 1969. In 1977, the De Carlo Brothers purchase the property in a derelict condition and commence building works, creating lowered ceiling, restaurant and function centre, kitchen area in Abbey.^[7] They also construct a bitumen car parking area rear (south) of Abbey, over former clay tennis court in south-east corner of rear of Hamilton/the Abbey.^[1] This business ended c. 2003; the church, Reussdale and Hamilton all went into decline and became derelict.

By c. 2010, however, other parties had taken an interest in this notable group. Reussdale was restored and sold as residential accommodation; the abandoned church, which had been used by squatters, was also restored and offered for sale. Hamilton, which had deteriorated badly, was demolished.

Setting

There is a large asphalt parking area at the rear of no.s 156 and 158 Bridge Road. Setbacks from Bridge Road are staggered. The former church is closest to the road alignment and Reussdale the furthest. The site is bounded by Hewit Avenue on the south-west and Reuss Street at the rear. Reussdale is built right to the Hewit Avenue boundary. There is a stone fence along the front boundary with a number of iron gates.^[1]

The relationship of the building to its neighbours contributes to its interest. The deep setbacks and generous grounds also provide a setting appropriate to the magnificence of the architecture. Whilst very little remains of the original gardens some of the site's trees appear to date back to the original construction. Presently they contribute to the Gothic atmosphere of the main frontage.^[8][1]

Reussdale

Built by 1871 and probably dates to the later 1860s. Planned as an asymmetrical cottage with a tower in the re-entrant angle above the entrance. The house possesses several unusual features such as the treatment of the walls. The back and side walls are rendered - the normal treatment of walls at this time. But the front of the house is of exposed, apricot-brown brickwork, speckled with crushed coal. And the unusual bay window features a triangular pointed frame unique in Glebe.^[1][9]

The decorative enframement of windows and doors is expressed with considerable vigour. The sandstone lintels are carved from one block to simulate segmental arches, some with prominent keystones. And they rest on prominent corbels with classical moulding. Wrought iron is used about the window sills, but cast iron has been avoided. The verandah posts are of wood with fretted wood brackets. The gables are carved elaborately.^[1]

The top of the tower contains a diagonal pattern of glass brick beneath the eaves, placed about a course of head? And sawtooth laid bricks. This interest in the colour and laying of bricks is unusual in Glebe at this time. The general vigour of the decoration, suggests Reuss had come into contact with the writings of Ruskin and Butterfield. Reussdale appears to be the earliest example of High Victorian domestic design in Glebe.^[1]

Landscape

Mature trees on site (from 1989 photographs in Perumal Murphy) include:^[1]

• Nettle trees (Celtis sinensis) - large one on eastern side fence of Hamilton, two in front of Abbey on Bridge Road fence, two large ones in north-west corner in front of Reussdale, several west of and close to the Abbey, two close to Abbey walls on eastern side, several at rear (south-west) on boundary behind Reussdale/Abbey
• Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora), a large specimen on the front boundary fence in front of Hamilton
• Brush box (Lophostemon confertus) one on front fence to Bridge Road in front of Abbey, one closer to Abbey entry off north-east corner
• Leaning palm (Washingtonia robusta) on side fence between Hamilton & the Hermitage to the east
• Lord Howe Island palm (Kentia fosteriana) south-west corner of Abbey, predates it.

Trees probably post-1927 (or may be seedling regrowth of earlier trees on site):^[10][1]

• Queensland kauri (Agathis robusta), west of Abbey, possibly post 1927 (a species rare in Sydney today)
• Jacaranda, (J. mimosaefolia), on rear fence behind Reussdale/Abbey
• Two Lombardy poplars, (Populus italica Nigra), on west fence north of Reussdale, both cut down to stumps recently'
• Hill's weeping fig, (Ficus x hillii) close to front entry to Abbey'
• Illawarra flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius) one on front fence north of Abbey, one inside front fence north of Reussdale
• Bay tree/sweet bay/laurel (Laurus nobilis), north-west of Hamilton, close to house'
• Lord Howe Island palm (Kentia fosteriana), in same location as bay tree, closer to house
• Oleander (Nerium oleander) south west corner of the Abbey (may predate it, may not)
• Wattle (Acacia sp.) south west corner of the Abbey - may predate it - unusual species, near end of lifespan
• Cocos Island or Queen palms (Syragus romanzoffianum), many planted between bays of Abbey walls, three planted in bitumen paving north of the Abbey towards Bridge Road.

Condition

As at 30 March 2004, although the building is still structurally sound the interior, especially, is in a very poor state. Unless remedial work is undertaken water damage also threatens the external brickwork. There is a large hole in the main roof which has resulted in major damage to one of the upstairs rooms. Much of the interior plasterwork has also deteriorated beyond repair. Fortunately the building remains capable of rescue, and there have been no major alterations which cannot be easily undone.^[8][1]

Modifications and dates

• 1927 – Presbyterian Church demolished 158 Bridge Road (Alma Villa) and moved a (dismantled) church here.^[1]
• Date unknown – stables/outbuildings behind (south of) Reussdale demolished.^[1]
• 1960s – fire in Abbey with damage to roof, ceilings.^[1]
• 1977/8 – conversion of Abbey to restaurant, bitumen sealing of rear of Abbey/Hamilton for carpark, replaced earlier clay tennis court and Hamiltons stables (which may have been long gone by then).^[1]
• 1996 – corrugated iron re-roofing of Reussdale, new timber barge boards and front verandah structure.^[1]

Bibliography

• AMAC (2008). 156-160 Bridge Road, Glebe : Archaeological assessment,research design, methodology, and excavation permit application [Variant title:Reussdale, The Abbey and Hamilton].
• Attraction Homepage (2007). "Preservation Heritage Walk" (PDF).
• Garry Stanley and Dickson Rothschild (2008). Photographic archival recording Reussdale 160 Bridge Road, Glebe.
• Garry Stanley Heritage Architect; Dickson Rothschild (2008). Addendum to the Conservation Management Plan 'The Abbey Site', 154-160 Bridge Rd., Glebe.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Godden Mackay Logan (2005). Conservation Management Plan - Reussdale.
• Perumal Murphy P/L Environmental Planners (1989). Reussdale a conservation plan.
• Smith, K. & B. (1989). The architectural character of Glebe, Sydney.
• Sydney City Council (2007). "Preservation Heritage Walk".
• Leichhardt Heritage Study.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article contains material from Reussdale, entry number 292 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 13 October 2018.