Magistrate's House


Magistrate's House is a heritage-listed residence at 5-7 Market Place, Berrima, Wingecarribee Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Carthona and Ballynahinch. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

History

It was built for merchant and auctioneer James Jerome Higgins and his wife Mary, with conflicting sources providing various construction dates ranging from the early 1830s to early 1840s. Higgins remained in the property until 1850. It was thereafter leased to police magistrates. Mary Stone used it as a school 1900, after which it became derelict until 1927. From 1927 it was owned by prominent local family the Browns for several decades, who undertook extensive renovations.

Description

Magistrate's House is an early Berrima modified Georgian house with cedar doors, floors of solid jarrah and a stone flagged front verandah. Single storied and built of ashlar sandstone, the house has a half-gabled corrugated steel clad roof and wide, raftered eaves. The hipped front verandah roof is of similar "raftered" character. The 4 chimneys are stone with simple, flat neck moulds. Windows to the west elevation have louvred shutters. The tall Oak and Poplar trees, as well as the hedge, provide a distinctive setting.

Significance

Ballynahinch is significant through its associations as the residence of the magistrates and the role of Berrima as a legal/administrative centre. Its setting and roofline are features which contribute to the streetscape qualities of the Marketplace and the building has some aesthetic significance as an early building with good stonework. The extent of the original fabric remaining in relation to the later alterations needs to be determined however.

Heritage listing

Magistrate's House was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

Attribution