Built before 1900. Located at 568 Reservoir Road, Prospect.
Photograph
(c) Blacktown Council, 1995
An excellent example of residential development in the Victorian era in
Prospect.
A single storey late Victorian weatherboard house with pyramidal hipped
galvanised iron roof and gabled section facing the road frontage. A
separately roofed verandah on two sides is supported on turned timber
posts with decorative brackets.
Bridestowe was originally part of a 45 acre property bought by Pastor
James Hicks in 1884 (the family previously lived in Ryde). It was named
after James' native Bridestowe in county Devon, England (near
Dartmore). After the death of James in 1903, the property passed to his
youngest son, Joseph. Joseph was a foundation member of the Blacktown
Agricultural Society and president for 15 years. Joseph initially
developed the Bridestowe property as a vineyard, but after disease
decimated the vines, he established a prize-winning herd of some 300
Jersey cows. After Joseph's death in 1930 the family continued to
operate the dairy for over 10 years but eventually the property passed
out of the family's hands and has since been subdivided and now only a
single housing block remains. Some early out-original buildings remain
on the site. Joseph's two sons, Ron and Fred, still live nearby.
Sources:
NSW Heritage Office Website, http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au
Protecting Our Heritage, Blacktown Advocate, 15th December, 1999
Prospect Trust, "Back to Prospect" tour, 16/7/2000Visit a Historic House, Blacktown City Sun, 28th March, 2006
Brothers Bridge Border, Blacktown City Sun, 4th April, 2006
NSW BDM Indices, CD-Rom Edition
