Brislington Medical and Nursing Museum (Source: Neera Sahni)
Brislington Medical and Nursing Museum is the oldest and rare existing dwelling house in the inner City of Parramatta. It has been associated with the medical profession since 1851 having been a doctor’s residence and practice and associations with the Parramatta District Hospital. It is located in a gracious Georgian building on the corner of George and Marsden Streets in Parramatta and since 1990s has been a Medical and Nursing Museum for the former Parramatta Hospital.
The building was constructed in 1821 for ex-convict John Hodges as a condition of his application to Governor Macquarie for a Liquor License. To build the Brislington, he used money won in a card game at the nearby Woolpack Inn. To commemorate his win of 1000 pounds in gold with the eight of diamonds card, Hodges had the convict workers incorporate the diamond pattern into the rear wall in darker brick.
Building and Modifications of Brislington:
1820: Construction of the two-storey house is commenced.
1821: The house is completed.
1857: The Port Jackson fig tree (Ficus rubiginosa) which predates 1857, still growing in the remnant front garden is probably the oldest tree on the Parramatta Hospital site. Its geographic location relates directly to the formal symmetry of the house's façade.
c. 1910: Ground floor verandahs added, with stumpy brick pier posts, twin timber posts, heavy timber brackets, and gabled entrance bay.
c. 1910: Two storey eastern bay is another addition. Some internal alterations made.
c.1930: Front verandah added to (southern elevation) house, facing George Street.
1949: resumed by Parramatta District Hospital for health-related uses and nursing home.
1970s: Redevelopment of the adjacent Parramatta District Hospital with a new Accident & Emergency wing directly north of Hambledon, three stories tall.
1982: Restoration by Parramatta Hospitals, Parramatta City Council and NSW Heritage Council involved demolition of two rear wings (one two storey to the east, one storey to the west) on the recommendation of National Trust.
1983 - : Brislington Medical and Nursing Museum
Brislington was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 - The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.
The association of the building and site with notable people like John Hodges, an early character of New South Wales, Brown family, from whom the name Brislington is derived and who occupied the home as a residence for over ninety years.
The building retains elements of its original fabric including sash windows, doors, fanlight, elements of the stair, cellar details and chimneys. The date of the building makes the bricks and flagstones extremely rare especially in an in-situ domestic urban setting.
Neera Sahni, Research Services Leader, Parramatta Heritage Centre, City of Parramatta, 2021
References
- Brislington Medical and Nursing Museum. 'Save Brislington Medical and Nursing museum in Parramatta from the NSW Government.' https://www.change.org/p/save-brislington-medical-and-nursing-museum-in-parramatta-from-the-nsw-government. retrieved on 5 July 2021
- Brislington Medical and Nursing Committee. www.brislington.net. retrieved on 1 July 2021
- Kass, Terry, Carol Liston, and John McClymont eds. Parramatta: A Past Revealed. Parramatta: Parramatta City Council, 1996.
- Office of Environment and Heritage, 'Parramatta District Hospital – Brislington and Landscape.' http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au retrieved on 1 July 2021
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brislington,_Parramatta
- https://mgnsw.org.au/organisations/brislington-medical-and-nursing-museum/
- https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/brislington