Historic Houses in Sydney

We have just spent  a  few days in Sydney to see the Star Wars exhibit at the Powerhouse Museum and to go to the Impressionists at the Galler y of New South Wales.   The latter we walked to in torrential rain – we thought heat would be our problem.  The former was interesting but no I understand as good as the previous exhibit, especially for anyone who has devoured the Eye Witness books. Havinga family membership to teh phm we went every day there.  David and I ahd a great time playing with some of teh digital exploration exhibits for the permanent decorative arts exhibit.

For me the trip was a chance to visit old friends Felicity and Ian Thompson. Felicity has now made me two pairs of shoes from her Gypsy Shoes range. They are a joy to wear.  I spent one evening with Fliss and her kids and realised I do not really get to do girl things. Just small thoughts that escape notice in the continual  company of boys.

The highlight of my trip was a tour of two historic houses with Ian , driving around Sydney in their old VW.   Ian is   a restorer and creator of objects for the Historic Houses Trust and spent the day telling me the “good stories behind things”.  See his web site here but watch for the new version coming soon.

First stop was Elizabeth Bay House. I had been there once before with my friend Peter Scrivener , also part of the Museum sector in Sydney and now at Museum of Northern Territory. Exploring with Peter is always guaranteed to reveal treasures.  Years ago he introduced me to the house of Sir John Soanes in London and our visit to Elizabeth Bay had been a highlight of a previous visit.    Ian uncovered new layers of understanding of the place.  It is astounding that it was once divided in small apartments. Now it’s symmetry and architecural spaces have been restored and the Trust is slowly populating its rooms with authentic artefacts – not always those with provenance but as nearly as possible.  My favoutite things in it are the shutters which fold back into the window surrounds.   New evidence  has suggested the house’s location was not random but in fact the huge excavation into rock that set the house on a different orientation to most of the grand houses of the period, was to capture the sun at soltice.   This idea elaborates the forms and mathematical proportions of the spaces.  Small  ante rooms created by the oval central hall give the house  a very special utility as well as flow.

Ian pointed out numerous pieces he has made or restored for the house including the pieces in the Bulter’s Pantry and the specimen cabintes in the study.  In the case of the Butler’s pantry archival discovery informed the design of the cabinet using paint outlines on the walls.   Such  are the secrets of archival work and are so numerous that they could not all be made accessible. We did discuss how digital collections do make such discovery more widely accessable.  I had not previosuly made the connection that the owner of the house was the creator of the MacLeay collection at the Sydney University Campus ( another Museum visited at Pete’s recommendation).   These ‘old’ style museums embue such magic that I am not sure could be translated into digital form. That is their charm – the evocation of that period of the studied collection when time moved at the same pace but there was less busi-ness to fit intot it.

Next stop was Vaucluse House – an entirely different affair architecturally. The temperature was in the 30’s but inside the house was cool becasue of its thick stone walls.  Pastiche would be a good description of its mix.  It does not have the arhitectural form of Elizabteh Bay but is a wonderful example of how a house of that period functioned with stables, cellars and a working kitchen. 

On the kitchen window sill were some gorgeously decorated pies as if the cook had just popped them there to cool while she went up to the kitchen garden.   I was reminded of some of the ideas that infomed how I want to build our daily operation in teh new house and am sure that these ofl kitchen designs will be revisited eventually.  Up thehill the garden is full of heritage fruits and vegetables and is an extensive restoration project in its own right. Ian showed me more pieces that he has built from evidence and research.      At the end of one one hall way is a room created for one of the children just as we have patched a room “in  a cupboard” for Nick and Ian and Fliss ahve segmented spaces for their children.  Though this room at Vaucluse is ornate in its wooden cabinetry it is still entirely makeshift, the wall not meeting the ceiling.  Nothing changes in a way.

Lastly Ian took me on a tour of his workshop where he tied together many of the threads of the day’s stories.  A bit of museum in it’s own right, this space is a testament to having commitment and belief in ones craft and following ones nose to realise dreams.