Beaumont House | |
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General information | |
Architectural style | Eclectic Romanesque-Classical |
Town or city | Beaumont, South Australia |
Country | Australia |
Coordinates | 34°56′59″S138°39′39″E / 34.94972°S 138.66083°E |
Completed | 1851 |
Client | Bp. Augustus Short |
Official name | 'Beaumont House', Stables, Shed and Olive Grove |
Designated | 24 July 1980 |
Reference no. | 10752 |
Beaumont House, occasionally known as Claremont, is an eclectic Romanesque-Classical brick residence located at 631 Glynburn Road in Beaumont, South Australia. Beaumont House was constructed for Augustus Short, the first Anglican bishop of Adelaide and founder of St Peter's Cathedral. It was constructed on land initially owned by Sir Samuel Davenport, a wealthy Adelaide landlord. Following Short's move back to England, Davenport purchased the house—the second of five eventual owners. Following three sales between 1907 and 1911, the house was then transferred to the National Trust of South Australia in 1968 and has been listed on the South Australian Heritage Register since 24 July 1980. [1]
The suburb of Beaumont, in the City of Burnside, was founded as a purpose-built village by Sir Samuel Davenport in 1848. The location of Beaumont to Adelaide, a rapidly developing settlement at the time, made land in the area extremely expensive. Although Adelaide as a new settlement was prospering during the mid-19th century, still very few people could afford the exclusivity of Beaumont. [2]
Bishop Augustus Short moved from England to Adelaide after the Archbishop of Canterbury offered him the choice of moving to Newcastle—on the coast of New South Wales—or Adelaide, both recently established dioceses. He chose the latter, and was consecrated at Westminster Abbey on St Peter's Day, 29 June 1847. He arrived in Adelaide by ship on 28 December 1847. [3]
Short expressed his interest in residing in Beaumont, and was wealthy enough to buy a large allotment of land off the current landowner, Davenport. Between 1849 and 1851, he had Beaumont House designed and built on a large allotment at the end of Glynburn Road, a major road which serviced the suburb of Beaumont, and linked to more major roads running west into the city of Adelaide along the Adelaide Plains. The Beaumont House estate was given the name 'Claremont' by Short. The location, in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges, was chosen to catch the cool breezes coming from the sea across the Adelaide Plains. [4] [5]
Bishop Short and his family moved into the house later in 1851, and resided there until Bishop's Court, North Adelaide, was ready to be occupied in 1856. During the same year, Sir Samuel Davenport purchased the house and land from Bishop Short and lived in 'The Lodge', a small cottage at the entrance to what became the driveway to Beaumont House, until Short vacated Claremont. [3] [6] : page:44
Bishop Short later founded St Peter's Cathedral, an Anglican church, in 1869. However, a combination of declining health and disagreements of opinions over the next thirteen years saw him resign his precedence as bishop in 1872 and then as head of the diocese in 1881. He returned to England on 7 January 1882. At the time, the Claremont estate was valued at £8200. [3] [6] : page:49
A cultivator of olives, Davenport had planted a limited number of olives around Beaumont House in 1852 after he purchased the land the year before. Davenport later expanded his groves by replanting trees and cuttings from Beaumont both in other areas of the allotment and at some of his other properties in the Adelaide Hills. He also planted mulberry trees for producing silk on the estate grounds. [7] [8] [9]
Davenport resided in Beaumont House until his death on 3 September 1906; his wife having predeceased him on 6 February 1902, and they had no children. He left his estate mainly to his nephew Howard Davenport after his death, and both Houses of Parliament in South Australia adjourned for his funeral in tribute to his legacy. [8]
In 1907 the estate was sold to a new owner, Major Vincent, who made extensive alterations to the house. It was then bought by a third owner in five years, Mr Bennet, in 1911. Upon his death the house was passed on to his widow. Beaumont House was then transferred to the National Trust of South Australia by Bennet's widow, who had remarried, and her new partner on 24 August 1968. [10]
Originally a five-bedroom residence, the Beaumont House estate has been expanded greatly. Most of the structural expansion took place between 1907 and 1911, when Maj. Vincent owned it; it has not been expanded or notably altered at all since being donated to the National Trust. [10] [11]
The estate is strongly reminiscent of Romanesque architecture, mainly due to alterations made to the house and grounds by Davenport. A member of the National Trust, the current owner of Beaumont House, explains how Davenport's travels influenced his styles: [7]
Samuel Davenport was a great world traveller. He was very much involved in the world exposition movement. Every two years there were big world expos happening in different cities around the world. And he would travel to every one of these expos...I'm sure that the influences that he picked up in all of his travels are reflected here in Beaumont House.
The olive groves are no longer cultivated on the grounds of Beaumont House, but other notable additions by Davenport to the Romanesque style still remain. The house is occasionally described as 'Mediterranean', mostly due to the red Tuscan-styled roof, the olive groves and pillared exterior. [5]
Waterfall Gully is an eastern suburb of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is located in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges around 5 km (3.1 mi) east-south-east of the Adelaide city centre. For the most part, the suburb encompasses one long gully with First Creek at its centre and Waterfall Gully Road running adjacent to the creek. At the southern end of the gully is First Falls, the waterfall for which the suburb was named. Part of the City of Burnside, Waterfall Gully is bounded to the north by the suburb of Burnside, from the north-east to south-east by Cleland National Park, to the south by Crafers West, and to the west by Leawood Gardens and Mount Osmond.
The City of Burnside is a local government area in the South Australian city of Adelaide stretching from the Adelaide Parklands into the Adelaide foothills with an area of 2,753 hectares. It was founded in August 1856 as the District Council of Burnside, the name of a property of an early settler, and was classed as a city in 1943. The LGA is bounded by Adelaide, Adelaide Hills Council, Campbelltown, Mitcham, Norwood Payneham and St Peters and Unley.
Mount Osmond is a small suburb of 2,497 people in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is part of the City of Burnside local government area and located in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills, five kilometres south east of the city centre. The suburb is high on the hill of the same name, which is the last hill on the right when approaching Adelaide down the South Eastern Freeway before the road levels out onto the Adelaide Plains. It is bounded to the north by the suburb of Beaumont, to the north-east by Burnside, to the east by Waterfall Gully, to the south by Leawood Gardens/Eagle On The Hill, to the south-west by Urrbrae, to the west by Glen Osmond and to the north-west by St Georges.
Beaumont is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside. Founded as a purpose-built village by Sir Samuel Davenport in 1848, it initially struggled due to high land prices in the area. However, with Adelaide's inevitable expansion residents eventually settled. The early village had quite a cosmopolitan flavour–although predominantly Anglo-Saxon like most of Australia at that point, many of Beaumont's early residents were veterans of the British Navy or Army or had lived in other countries for some time.
Erindale is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside. It is on the east side of Glynburn Road, where it borders Leabrook.
Hazelwood Park is an upper class suburb in the City of Burnside, Adelaide, South Australia with a census area population of 1,717 people. The suburb is about 5 kilometres east of the Central business district. Hazelwood Park, a suburban park inside the suburb, is the major attraction in the suburb and is the start of the flat country of the Adelaide Plains at the bottom of the Adelaide Hills. Adjacent Howard Terrace is considered to be the end of the Plains and the start of the foothills. Hazelwood Park includes the Burnside Swimming Centre, a popular site in the summer. Much of the remainder of the suburb is residential but there is a small shopping area along Glynburn Road on the eastern edge. The area was first settled by Europeans in 1848 but has seen many community changes over the years.
Stonyfell is an eastern suburb in the foothills of Adelaide, Australia, within the council area of the City of Burnside. It has parks with walking tracks, and two creeks running through it. St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School is the only school in Stonyfell. There is a quarry and a winery, the present-day remnants of industries dating back to the early days of the colonisation of South Australia.
Marryatville is a small suburb about 4–5 kilometres (2.5–3.1 mi) east of Adelaide's central business district, in the local council area of City of Norwood Payneham St Peters. Comprising low- to medium-density housing, two large schools, a church and several shops, it also has two creeks running through it. The first European settler on the land was George Brunskill in 1839, with part of the land purchased and laid out as a village in 1848 by James Philcox.
Tranmere is an eastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Campbelltown.
Augustus Short was the first Anglican bishop of Adelaide, South Australia.
The history of the City of Burnside, a local government area in the metropolitan area of Adelaide, spans three centuries. Prior to European settlement Burnside was inhabited by the Kaurna people, who lived around the creeks of the River Torrens during the winter and in the Adelaide Hills during the summer.
Sir Samuel Davenport was one of the early settlers of Australia and became a landowner and parliamentarian in South Australia.
John Fullerton Cleland was a Protestant Christian missionary who served with the London Missionary Society during the late Qing Dynasty China. He emigrated to South Australia, where he and his wife founded a family of considerable influence.
Edmund William Wright was a London-born architect in the colony of South Australia. He was mayor of Adelaide for 10 months in 1859. He designed many civic, commercial, ecclesiastical, and residential buildings in Adelaide city centre and its suburbs, in styles influenced by French and Italian Renaissance, as well as Neoclassical architecture. He collaborated with other notable architects E. J. Woods, Isidor Beaver, and Edward Hamilton in designing some of the most notable buildings.
Golden Grove is an outer north-eastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia and is within the City of Tea Tree Gully local government area. It is adjacent to Wynn Vale, Surrey Downs, Greenwith, Yatala Vale, Fairview Park, and Salisbury East.
Christ Church, North Adelaide is an Anglican church in North Adelaide, South Australia.
Elphinstone Davenport Cleland was a journalist and mine manager in South Australia and Western Australia.
Quinton Stow Smith, was a South Australian businessman, philanthropist and longtime active lay member of the Baptist Church.