Glenwood

Glenwood Park (Sorrento)

Photograph (c) David Powell, 2005

Built 1853 and located at 174 Glenwood Park Drive, Glenwood (formerly Parklea).

A large brick two-storey Victorian home with an upper floor verandah along the front with iron lace work. Inside, the house has marble fireplaces and finely detailed plaster work. The house presently has a corrugated iron roof, originally having a slate roof which was replaced with concrete tiles sometime in the 20th century.

In 1846 James Samuel Staff aquired 70 acres in what is now known as Parklea (the land was originally granted in 1818). There may or may not have been buildings on the estate at the time of purchase. Staff began farming the property in 1846 and in 1853 he built the homestead which remains today. Staff named the farm "Norfolk Vale" after County Norfollk, England, from where the Staff family originally came. Staff maintained orchards, a dairy herd and also grew wheat and hay. In 1882 Staff sold the property, at which time it consisted of 115 acres.

In 1888 James Cocks bought the property and renamed it "Sorrento". Cocks was an important fruit growers in the district and the house was surrounded by orange orchards which had been established by James Staff. "Sorrento" was the residence of James Burns from 1912 to 1920. In 1920 it was bought by Ernest Thompson who grazed cattle and farmed the land. In 1941 Alfred von Sanden, a horsebreeder, purchased the estate and he renamed it "Glenmore Park". After 1949 it was used as a dairy and the house was increasingly neglected. Between 1846 and 1974 the property had 13 owners. In 1974 it was resumed by the state government for a planned housing development. The house was badly damaged by fire in 1995, but has since been restored and how houses a medical centre.

The house is notable for being one of the very few two storey Victorian houses in the Blacktown region.

There is a small park to the front of the building.

Sources:
Blacktown Guardian, 21/4/1999
Blacktown Advocate, 21/4/1999
"When the Country Became the City Blacktown", 1996, Blacktown & District Historical Society
Blacktown Council Website, http://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/our_city/oc_glenwoodhouse.asp
NSW Heritage Office Website, http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au