Henry Bull's Cottage

Child Places

• 23583 Ellen's Brook Estate - Homestead Kiln
• 14568 Ellenbrook Estate Millstream Bridge
• 23596 Ellen's Brook Estate - Cape Lilac Tree
• 14561 Ellen's Brook Estate Homestead
• 14567 Ellen's Brook Estate Machinery Shed
• 14563 Ellen's Brook Estate Homestead Toilets
• 23601 Ellen's Brook Estate - Worker's Quarters
• 23612 Ellen's Brook Estate - Homestead Kiln

Statement of Significance

Henry Bull's Cottage, comprising a two-storey, brick and shingle house, the mill race and mill pond, the grape pickers' quarters, and the lime kiln, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
The place demonstrates the early nineteenth century European settlement of the Swan River Colony for agricultural purposes;
The place is a representative remnant of the system of land grants and land tenure instituted by the first European inhabitants of the Swan River Colony; the mill race, mill pond and lime kiln are examples of technical achievement at a time of economic struggle during the nineteenth century;
The valley containing the house, mill race, mill pond, grape pickers' quarters and lime kiln, together with the bridge over Ellen Brook in the adjacent Public Open Space, constitutes a landscape with aesthetic qualities valued by the community;
The mill race, mill pond and lime kiln are important for their potential to reveal information contributing to the methods of milling flour and the burning of lime in the colony during the nineteenth century;
The place is important for its association with the Leake and Barrett-Lennard families; and,
The place contributes to the community's sense of place by providing a link with the colonial development of the area.

The large farm shed to the north-east of the house and the reconstructed mill which were built in 1984-88 are not part of the historic precinct, even though the mill with its faithfully re-constructed wheel is of interest and with the mill race and pond contributes to the overall setting. The mill dam on the adjoining Lot 4 is not included in this assessment; nor is the bridge over Ellen Brook situated in Public Open Space to the south.

Physical Description

The homestead has a two-storey core with a single-storey lean-to at the east and north sides and a two-storied verandah (reconstructed in 1988) along the west (front) elevation. The south elevation has a brick chimney serving fireplaces at ground and first floor levels.

The footings are of granite and brick. The walls are of brick burnt on site, Flemish bond to the front, and English bond elsewhere. (The brickwork to the north side lean-to was reconstructed in 1988.) The roof of sheoak shingles, replaced corrugated iron in 1988. The front door leads to a hall with a steep staircase. On each floor there are two small rooms each side of the hall.

The ground floor rooms have lath and plaster ceilings, replaced as such in 1987 and the first floor rooms have ripple iron ceilings. Windows are either double casements or pivoted sashes.

The lean-to at the east side has a kitchen at the north end and a bathroom at the south end (both fitted out in 1988) and a vestibule between.

A toilet building is situated 50 metres or so from the homestead and half way down the slope of the hillock on which the homestead stands. The building is of brick construction with a timber-shingled roof. The toilets were of the removable-pan type and the building still contains two wooden toilet seats side by side. The brickwork of the walls and the toilet seats appear to be original. The shingles of the roof are a modern reconstruction.

The workers' quarters is situated adjacent to the old Ellen's Brook Homestead and consists of two main buildings. The first is either the foreman's hut or a kitchen for the complex of workers' huts. The other building is a row of sleeping huts, each separated from its neighbours by about a metre, and having its own roof, but all the huts are united by a common floor and a common but independent roof structure supported by timber posts and struts.

A large Cape Lilac Tree once situated about twenty metres from the north-eastern side of the Ellen's Brook homestead and was long a prominent feature of the place. Following a site visit in 2016, the tree has been removed.

History

The original elements of the place may make this homestead the oldest extant residence in Western Australia. As a building, only the Round House, Fremantle, would be older.

It is possible that the toilets date back to the construction of the original homestead on the property in 1831-33, and thus would be associated with Henry Bull and the builder, Richard Edwards.

When George Hardey Barrett-Lennard purchased the Ellen's Brook Estate in 1897, he renamed the property Belhus Estate after Belhus Manor, the family seat in Essex, England, and commenced to develop its viticultural potential. Large areas were planted with vines for the production of table grapes, of which he became the first large-scale exporter in Western Australia. It was necessary to employ large numbers of temporary workers during the grape-picking season in mid to late summer, and the existing workers' quarters were built for the purpose of accommodating some of the workers during the season. At the height of vineyard activity the estate employed about twenty grape-pickers and about 120 workers (mainly women) to clean and pack the grapes.

When restoration of the group was considered by the present owners in 1988, it was found that much of the timberwork was affected by termite damage. It was found necessary to dismantle the complex and rebuild it. Original materials were used wherever possible, but some recycled timber was introduced. The result is a faithful replication of the original buildings on their original site and gives little hint of being a reconstruction.

In 2016, the tree was uprooted as a result from a storm. It was later discovered that the tree was rotten internally.

Integrity/Authenticity

High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.