Sweet Chatterbox: Clevedon

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Clevedon

I've been to this place, a historical house at East Gresford, NSW, called Clevedon. Stayed there for a few weeks a couple of times, and I enjoyed it very much. I amaze with the history of the property, how peaceful and beautiful it is ... so I thought I wanna share it with you.

Historical Victorian Home, Clevedon

History of Clevedon,

Clevedon was first settled by George Townshend when he bought the property in 1836. James McCormick arrived from Ireland in 1833 with his wife, Ellen and 3 year old daughter, Mary. Mr McCormick worked for George Townshend at Trevallyn for some years before he started buying his own land which included Clevedon.

Mary McCormick married Edward W Doyle in 1862 after he arrived from England in 1986. They had two children, Joseph McCormick and Edward James Sarsfield, and it was for Edward James Sarsfield that Clevedon was built in 1898 after his marriage to Lillian Kathleen Robertson in 1895. Edward james Sarsfield Doyle died in 1903, aged 34 after surgery for appendicitis on the kitchen table at Clevedon.

There have been three substantial houses on the original Clevedon property - there is no trace of the first, the second homestead can still be seen to the right of the current house facing the river (minus its top storey, which was sold during the 1930's and was moved to Trevallyn and is now know as "The Harbourage").

Clevedon served the Gresford Community as a hospital between 1929-1953 and 1956-1984 and many of the district's residents have strong links to Clevedon in its days as a hospital.

After 1984, it was lovingly and carefully restored to its present state and now sits on 82 acres backing on to the Allyn River with vineyard, orchards, and gardens.

The current owners live in the house and have built two modern, high quality Bed and Breakfast units with a Craft shop and Tea Rooms to cater for the growing tourist market visiting the scenic peaceful Gresford area and the Barrington Tops.