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.