The Hermitage, Pennant Avenue, Denistone

The Hermitage was the home built by John and Ellen Blaxland (nee Faulkner) on 50 acres of land which he had purchased from his brother-in-law Thomas Forster for 268 pounds 5 shillings in 1838. The home was built on the ridge to take advantage of the views south, towards the Parramatta River.

On 16 October 1842, John advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald for tenders for plasterers, glaziers and painters which suggests that the dwelling was nearing completion. The foundations, cellar and parts of the west wing walls were built of local sandstone; the rest of the house was built with mud bricks made at a nearby clayhole. Slate was used for the roof and red cedar for the woodwork. A plan drawn in 1912 shows the "U" shaped house as containing a drawing and dining room, a bedroom, pantry, study and "passage room", all surrounded by verandahs. The western wing housed the "bachelor's rooms", kitchen, "man's room" and dairy; the eastern wing contained two bedrooms connected to the main house by an internal passage, a carpenter's shop, coach house, laundry and stables. There was a pigsty, rabbit hutch, fowl yard, bail and stockyard, two wells. Fruit trees, strawberry fields and a vineyard surrounded the house.

There was a succession of owners and/or occupiers including members of the Blaxland, Terry, Stockdale, Pollack and Nicholson families.

In 1952 the house was sold to the CSIRO and the Division of Wool Technology was established in and around it. In 1996 the CSIRO Wool Technology Unit moved from Ryde to Victoria and the site was sold. The CSIRO applied for a development application from Ryde Council for the Unit's buildings to be replaced by a group of strata title unit buildings whilst "The Hermitage" and the adjacent Federation cottage, "Wollondilly" were to be retained as private residences with curtilage similar to that which existed within the CSIRO complex.

At the time Julie Dawson wrote the chapter on The Hermitage for Historic Ryde: a guide to some significant heritage sites in the City of Ryde, 2002, she wrote "A succession of developers and Ryde City Council have been unable to reach agreement about the site". 

By 2012 the house had been restored and was in private ownership.

Listings

The Hermitage is listed on the State Heritage Register and also on City of Ryde's heritage register.