Physical Description
The Bishop's Lodge residence was constructed in Hay by Bishop Sydney Linton after promises of support from the Mayor and people of Hay. These promises were not fulfilled and the Linton family bore the major part of the debt for construction after the Bishop's death. The diocesan headquarters were later transferred to Narrandera. Subsequently the building was used as a hostel, before being eventually sold into private ownership. This imposing building is located with a north orientation to the Murrumbidgee River. An unobstructed view of the building from the Sturt Highway ensures that the building is a landmark feature in the Hay area and Riverina.
The lodge comprises the main residence, a kitchen block and two outbuildings east of the kitchen. The residence has a courtyard open to the rear, and a verandah encircles the building. All rooms are accessible from the verandah and a central hall is the only internal passageway. Walls are clad externally in corrugated iron and internally in ripple iron, with sawdust within the walls for insulation. Finely detailed verandah posts, window and door mouldings, roof ventilators and skilfully mitred timber linings on the verandah soffits provide relief from the bland corrugated walls. Wisteria grows on the northern verandah and adds protection from the sun.
Orientation was carefully considered in the layout and siting of the residence, rather than it facing the street. The construction system was innovative, to avoid the problems of soil movement in the extremes of seasons which cause masonry buildings to crack and to allow the structure to cool rapidly at night in the summer, while being insulated from the worst of the daytime heat. The roof is hipped, with ventilators in the portion of walls between the verandah roofs and the main eaves. There are gambrel ventilators to the rear hips. The chimneys are of brick. There is a pediment at the entrance, with incised decoration around a Bishop's mitre (AHC).
It is a large single storey building with central courtyard and with encircling verandah around the building perimeters. All rooms are accessible from the verandahs with a central hallway the only internal passageway. The kitchen is detached. Roofing and external walls of corrugated iron and internal linings all of ripple iron on a timber frame with sawdust filled wall cavities to provide insulation. In southern New South Wales iron is a most suitable domestic building material. Its lightness and durability and ability to withstand the seasonal expansion and contraction of western Riverina soil which causes extensive cracking of masonry buildings has not been generally appreciated. As a result many period iron houses have been lost. Rather than facing south onto the main road, the building has a northern orientation which is further evidence of design concessions to climatic extremes.
The utilitarian plainness of the building is relieved by finely detailed timber verandah posts, window and door mouldings, roof ventilators. A timber pediment over the entrance has a finely incised decoration around a carved bishop's mitre. Internally there are eighteen rooms each about 25 ft by 25 ft. The 12 ft high ceilings are of stained boards. Each room has a marble fireplace - black, brown or white - with brick surrounds. The former chapel has a decorated arch and stained glass fanlight. The kitchen block with large kitchen and several small rooms is connected to the house by a raised covered walkway. Building Material: Roofing and external walls of corrugated iron, internal linings of ripple iron, sawdust cavities (National Trust). |
History
The Bishop's Lodge residence was constructed in Hay by Bishop Sydney Linton after promises of support from the Mayor and people of Hay. These promises were not fulfilled and the Linton family bore the major part of the debt for construction after the Bishop's death. The diocesan headquarters were later transferred to Narrandera. Subsequently the building was used as a hostel, before being eventually sold into private ownership. This imposing building is located with a north orientation to the Murrumbidgee River. An unobstructed view of the building from the Sturt Highway ensures that the building is a landmark feature in the Hay area and Riverina (AHC).
Sydney Linton arrived with his wife and family in Sydney on board the PARRAMATTA in early 1885 and was enthroned as the Anglican Bishop of the Riverina at St Paul's Church, Hay on 18th March of that same year. He travelled extensively throughout the area during his early ministry and experienced the extremes of the Riverina climate and had ample opportunity to condiser the design of a building to accommodate his family and the administrative needs of the Diocese. The result is an innovative and successful building constructed in 1888 (National Trust).
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