Monday, 25 December 2017

Whiteman's Commercial Building

Whiteman’s Commercial Building

76–100 Argyle Street 
Camden
Lot 1, DP 1027952




 Whitemans General Store 86-100 Argyle St. 1900s. CIPP


 History and Description

The Whiteman family conducted a general store in Argyle Street on the same site for over 100 years.

In 1878 Charles Thomas Whiteman, who operated a family business in Sydney bringing produce to Camden bought a single storey home at the corner of Argyle and Oxley Street and ran his store from the site. (SHI) In 1878 a fire destroyed the business.

CT Whiteman was previously a storekeeper in Goulburn and Newtown and later married local Camden girl Anne Bensley in 1872. Whiteman, was a staunch Methodist, and was an important public figure in Camden and served as the town’s first mayor from 1892 to 1894. 

CT Whiteman moving to premises in Argyle Street in 1889 occupied by ironmonger J.Burret and Whiteman modified the building for a shopfront conversion.   (SHI) 

The store was leased to Woodhill family from 1903 to 1906. 

The original Argyle Street building was an early timber verandahed Victorian and Federation period store. It was a two-storey rendered masonry building with hipped tile roof, projecting brick chimneys. The second storey had painted timber framed windows which were shaded by a steeply pitched tile roof awning supported on painted timber brackets.(SHI)

A two-storey addition was constructed in 1936 and the verandah posts were removed in 1939 when this policy was implemented by Camden Municipal Council.

Whiteman Brothers 86-100 Argyle Street in 1923 (Camden Images)


There were later shopfront modifications to the adjacent mid 20th Century facade street frontage which included wide aluminium framed glazing and awning to the ground level of the building. (SHI)

The business sold a variety of goods including menswear, haberdashery, ladieswear,  hardware, and produce and became one of the longest-serving in Camden. 

The premises were known as the Cumberland Stores from 1889 to 1940.

 In the 1940s the store supplied groceries, drapery, men’s wear, boots and shoes, farm machinery, hardware, produce and stationery. (Gibson, 1940)

FC Whiteman & Sons at 86-100 Argyle Street in 1978 (Camden Images)


The Whiteman’s Store was trading as Argyle Living when it closed in 2006 under the control of Fred Whiteman. The Whiteman family had operated a general store in Camden for 123 years. On the closure of Argyle Living the store sold homewares, clothing, furniture and a range of knickknacks and was the largest in Camden with 1200 square metres of space.


Argyle Living Shopping Bag from the last Whiteman's Store in Argyle Street Camden in 2006. (I Willis, 2017)


Condition and Use

Currently a commercial premises and arcade in Argyle Street Camden

Heritage Significance

The former site of Whiteman's store was one of the longest-serving businesses in the Camden district. The buildings are an important historical reminder of the growth and development of Camden township from its late Victorian period to the new beginnings of post-war Camden. (SHI)

FC Whiteman & Sons at 86-100 Argyle Street in 1995 (Camden Images)


Heritage Listing

Local Environment Plan                       Item 9
State Heritage Inventory NSW                   ID 1280144
Australian Heritage Commission        National Estate Database

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Julie Wrigley, ‘Whiteman family’. The District Reporter, 8 December 2017.


Saturday, 23 December 2017

Gledswood Homestead Complex

Gledswood

900 Camden Valley Way
Catherine Field, NSW.
Lot 12, DP 748303


  
Gledswood Homestead built by James Chisholm with the rose gardens and formal front lawn (1997 Camden Images)


  History and Description

Gledswood estate was developed by James Chisholm c.1830.

James Chisholm developed a English style farm landscape suitable for a gentleman farmer with park, pleasure grounds, garden and vineyard following the aesthetic principles of landscape design.

The original grant to Gabriel Louis Marie Huon de Kerilleau in 1810 of 400 acres by Governor Macquarie was called Buckingham. He used convict labour to build a small cottage on the grant. He sold the property to James Chisholm in 1816 and renamed the property Gledswood. Chishold made additional purchases of land.

The homestead was built by James Chisholm c.1830 on land granted in 1829 following the form of an Indian bungalow. The homestead was renovated in the 1870s, to include the Gothic verandas and porches; the kitchen has been separated forming a courtyard.

The house has a long stone flagged front veranda on the north side with two gables breaking the eavesline and marking the entrances.  Decorative features include bargeboards in a rustic pattern, shuttered french doors and a front door with fanlight and side lights. The walls are rendered brick. (SHI)

In the centre of the property is a selection of Georgian farm buildings. Amongst the outbuildings there is the kitchen has been separated from the house and forms the courtyard.  (SHI)

Chisholm commenced his vineyard in 1830 and in 1847 Chisholm brought out German vinedressers to work the vineyard.

There is a large colonial formal Victorian garden area with typical 19th century ornamental plantings with signature plantings of tall Bunya pines that create a landmark. 

The formal front garden and lawn has many vines and shrubs typical of 19th century landscapes. Close to the house is ‘wild’ hedgerow and pepper trees popular.  The eastern garden is set out in a gardenesque style with an adjacent beds of  roses. (SHI)

Winding paths link these drives and extend the shrubbery thickly planted with photinias, plumbago, lonicera, cypress, oleander, duranta and other rarer plants, toward the south. (Aust Htge Places Inv)


Gledswood Homestead built in 1830 by James Chisholm with the assistance of convict labour with the formal front lawn  (John Kooyman 1997 Camden Images)


Condition and Use

The current use of the property is as a  tourist complex, private residence, and golf course housing estate. (SHI)

The garden has been only partially maintained and restoration work is urgently required. However the garden is largely unaltered in design although new plant material has been introduced. (AHPI)

Heritage Significance

Gledswood is an early 19th century farm estate that has close associations with the Camden area which is the birthplace of the Australian wool industry. Built by James Chisholm in c.1830, Gledswood remained the Chisholm family residence for 90 years.  (SHI)

The property has a historically significant Victorian colonial garden featuring:   a curving carriage way, period style timber gates, use of native and particular exotic plants which reflect the influence of the horticultural societies. The gardens provide an aesthetically pleasing landscape in a typical English style.  (Aust Htge Places Inv)

Gledswood Farm Outbuildings dating from the early colonial period under the ownership of James Chisholm (John Kooyman  1998 Camden Images)


Heritage Listing

Camden LGA Heritage Inventory ID 81
State Heritage Inventory  NSW ID  5051540
Register of the National Estate  ID 3252

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