Carrington Hotel, Katoomba

The Carrington Hotel shortly after it was built before the alterations and additions

Frederick Charles Goyder

The Carrington Hotel 1890 after the changes described were made

Tenders were called for the Western Star Hotel by J. Kirkpatrick of Kirkpatrick & Bossler, architects in September 1881. On 18 January 1882 Lots 10-15 of Section 2 was transferred to Harry George Rowell. The same year the hotel was constructed by F. Drewett, a builder from Lithgow, opening as the Great Western Hotel. The hotel was originally a large Victorian building called the "Great Western Hotel" with wrought iron lacework at the front. It was built in 1883 by Harry George Rowell (1827–1885). Rowell was born in England in 1827. His father James Rowell was an innkeeper in Hertford.[4] He went to India in about 1845 and lived in Bombay for over thirty years working in the English Civil Service. In the late 1870s he migrated to Sydney with his wife Frances and their children and became the owner of the Oxford Hotel in King Street which was a large Victorian establishment (since demolished).[5]

Tenders were called later in 1882 by Kirkpatrick for additions to the hotel, possibly the stone wing. On 24 April 1883 Rowell purchased Lots 1 & 2 of Section 2 of Deposited Plan 292 from Frederick Clissold.[3] In 1884 the Great Western Hotel is described as accommodating seventy to eighty persons with nearly sixty rooms.[3] Rowell died in 1885. On 9 September 1886 Thomas Frederick Thompson and Henry Moses, wine and spirit merchants, exercised Power of Sale under their Mortgage of 1 July 1885 and transferred the property to James Hunt and Henry Thorpe, hotelkeepers.[3] On 6 October 1887 the property was leased to Frederick Charles Goyder (1826–1900) of Katoomba.

Goyder was born in 1826 in Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. In 1856 he married Emily Stredwick in London and shortly after left England and came to Victoria. He was for many years landlord of the Victoria Hotel in Bourke Street. He was also closely connected to the sporting community and owned several racehorses one of whom was the champion called "Sussex".[6] The couple had five sons and one daughter and for 25 years lived in Melbourne. With his hotel and sporting interests Frederick became very prosperous. In 1881 he and his sons decided to sell all their Melbourne interests and buy a sheep property in the Warrego region of NSW.[7] However this was not a success and when he had the chance to take over the hotel he seized the opportunity. With the permission of Lord Carrington who visited the premises in 1886 in his capacity as Governor of NSW[8] Carrington gave permission for Goyder to change its name to The Carrington Hotel.[3]

From 1885 Carrington began to make additions to the premises including an additional wing, dining hall, two drawing rooms and a music room, resulting in 119 bedrooms and seven suites of rooms, two tennis courts and flower and vegetable gardens.. He told a newspaper reporter in 1890 of the improvements he had made. The article read:[9][3]

"Among the additions and improvements to the building are the following — a wing built (in 1886) of cut stone, and having a southerly aspect, consisting of 20 single rooms, and called 'the bachelors' wing.' Early in 1888 Mr. Goyder, having taken advantage of his right, purchased the hotel, and, finding the accommodation insufficient, added 50 more rooms. This addition stands in the courtyard and is joined to the main building. It is higher than the remaining portions of the hotel and adds to the imposing appearance of the pile. A music-room has also been added to the drawing room, and is separated from it by large folding doors. The floor of the music room is of polished tallow-wood, and is partly covered with Austrian rugs, which are easily removed for dancing. The piano is a Brinsmead, and is considered one of the finest grands; its tone is full and soft. The dining hall is also new; it measures 60ft, by 40ft. The floor is carpeted, and everything conducive to comfort is present. The ceiling is lofty, the lighting good, and the table decorations and menu leave nothing to be desired. This hall is capable of seating 200 guests. There are now 135 rooms in the hotel, among which are seven suites of private apartments, most comfortably furnished and conveniently situated, including one of the prettiest bridal suites to be found in the colonies."

On 30 April 1888 the property was transferred to F. C. Goyder and mortgaged to Hunt and Thorpe. In 1890 Goyder became the first Mayor of Katoomba and the hotel continued to prosper. On 10 March 1898 the mortgage was transferred to Henry Thorpe and Sydney Mansfield Rowell. On 24 July 1899 the property was leased to William Frederick Goyder, son of F. C. Goyder.[3] F. C. Goyder died in 1900 and a year later Arthur Lawrence Peacock became the proprietor on 19 September 1901. The mortgage was foreclosed on 19 September 1901 and ownership passed to Thorpe and Rowell.[3]

Sir James Joynton Smith 1909

The Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Elizabeth the Queen Mother at the Carrington Hotel in 1927

Arthur Lawrence Peacock (1861–1913) was the owner between 1901 and 1911. During this time he carried out several alterations mostly relating to redecoration. The power station at the back of the Carrington Hotel was built in 1910. It provided the first electricity supply not only to the Carrington Hotel but also to Katoomba and other Blue Mountains towns. The octagonal brick chimney remains an important Katoomba landmark.[3]

Between 1904 and 1911 Peacock carried out various alterations and additions, mostly redecoration and including services of lavatories, baths and water closets on each floor.[3] In 1908 Edward, Prince of Wales stayed at the Hotel.[3] In 1911 Sir James Joynton Smith bought the hotel. From this time major alterations were made to the building. One of these is the famous art nouveau stained glass façade at the front of the hotel. In 1927 he made further major additions which were described in a feature article in a building journal.[10] Many famous people visited the hotel including the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Elizabeth the Queen Mother). A photo of this event in 1927 is shown.

Sir John Joynton Smith (1858–1943) was born in London in 1858. His father was a master brass fitter. He worked in his father's shop for some time and tried several other jobs before signing on as a cabin boy on a steamer. He worked on ships until 1874 when he settled in New Zealand. Here he prospered as an hotelier in Wellington.

In 1890 he came to Sydney In 1892–96 he managed the Grand Central Coffee Palace Hotel in Clarence Street. In 1893 he married Nellie Eloise Parkes whose family were experienced hoteliers. In 1896, by now known as Joynton Smith, he laid the foundation of his fortune when he leased, the run-down Imperial Arcade Hotel, renamed the Arcadia, between Pitt and Castlereagh streets and turned it into a good residential establishment.[11] He continued to acquire properties and in the Blue Mountains as well as buying the Carrington Hotel he also bought the Imperial Hotel at Mount Victoria and leased the Hydro Majestic. He loved motor cars and owned many including a Pierce Arrow, Bentley, Cadillac, Rolls-Royce and Lasalle, and invested in a company selling them. He was a very flamboyant man and did magic tricks, sang comic Cockney songs and played the concertina. He smoked cigars but rarely drank alcohol. He enjoyed boxing, kept fit with a masseur and sauna and was a good billiards player. He owned three mansions in Sydney one of which was called Hastings at Coogee Beach. He died here in 1843. Although in a time of decline in Mountains tourism, The Carrington remained popular through the 1950s and 1960s.

On 18 December 1967 the property was transferred to six people, one of whom was Theodore Constantine Morris, a property developer, who held a half share. On 5 May 1969 the entire property was transferred to Morris. In 1968 the swimming pool was constructed and a general redecoration was undertaken.[12][3]

During the later years of the 20th century elements such as the pergola, trellis and some garden beds were removed and the swimming pool (since filled in) were added to the upper terrace. New trees were planted, some, e.g. the Himalayan cedars (Cedrus deodara) placed with respect for the symmetrical nature of the 1911-13 design and others planted seemingly at random. From the 1960s onwards there was a gradual erosion in the level of garden maintenance, resulting in a loss of detail. The introduction of public bus shelters on Katoomba Street in front of the early 20th century stone wall of the Carrington Hotel obscured and detracted from traditional views to the place.[3]

The hotel was closed in 1986 under then owner Theo Morris for non-compliance with fire regulations. It was boarded up,[13][3] and remained empty and derelict until 1991 when it was purchased with the aim of restoring and relaunching it to its former glory.

In 1992, Geoffrey Leach, a building contractor, began a process of restoration said to have cost rather less than $8m. In December 1998, the ground floor and one floor of guest rooms was re-opened, with other areas following as progress and finances permitted.[14] Mr. Leach would not say what the restoration has cost, but claims it is less than the "$6m to $8m" he says is being spent on that other fabulous mountains hotel, the Hydro Majestic Hotel.[3]

Leach's first task was to restore the pub at the driveway's entry on Katoomba Street, which has been generating income for the project for some years now. Inside the hotel, the art nouveau windows to the enclosed verandah have been replicated and the black and white tiled bathrooms - many with original fittings - restored. Uptsairs one large room - the "treasure room" - was used to stockpile any original items - light fittings, clocks, items of furniture, a pair of genuine Ming vases, the silver plate that now sits in a glass-fronted cupboard in the dining room. Vast Victorian oil paintings went off for cleaning and restoration, chandeliers were cleaned and re-hung, silver polished, clocks returned to working order, and pieces of furniture copied for the guest rooms (the bedheads even have the CH logo).[15][3]

In 2002 a master plan for a new town square was approved and implemented, partly imposing inside the Carrington's lower garden and involving its redesign, relocation of the intrusive bus shelters, ramps, paving and widespread replanting.[3] In 2004 Leach's interest was purchased by Michael Brischetto and Mark Jarvis, who announced ambitious new plans for a backpackers' hostel, a large number of bedrooms, new retail facilities and a drive-through bottle shop in the former power house. The partners have achieved some of these aims, while also devoting their energies to the conservation of the hotel's original fabric.[3] In July 2010 a bottle shop was opened in the former boiler room of the power house facing Parke Street. This involved the stabilisation of portions of the internal and external fabric of the structure.[14][3] Today the Carrington is welcoming guests again.[16]

The Carrington Hotel is sited on top of a small rise above and adjoining the main shopping street and railway station of Katoomba. The hotel's northern main entrance is landscaped with sweeping drives from Katoomba Street to the portico or colonnade of its front doors, terraced gardens and mature trees including two Bunya pines (Araucaria bidwillii) on the southern upper slope, silver birch (Betula pendula) and Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara) on the upper northern slope.[3]

Broadly the upper terraces and flanks of the hotel car parking areas are shrubberies and the lower terrace is grassed, with direct stairs connecting to the footpath on Katoomba Street.[17][3]

The power station at the rear of the Carrington Hotel was built in 1910. It provided the first electricity supply not only to the Carrington Hotel but also to Katoomba and other Blue Mountains towns. The building features load bearing brick walls, in two wings, one of which is rendered. The south wing has the letters KATOOMBA ELECTRIC SUPPLY on the lintels and other decorative brick detailing. The octagonal brick chimney appears to be in good condition, apart from the loss of a few bricks from its top. It is an important Katoomba landmark. A boiler which was in use until recently remains within the power station. An earlier horizontal boiler was removed when the current boiler was installed. The latter, which remains intact, has a name plate: D.H. Berghouse Ultimo. It is reported to have been brought from Sydney by rail, having previously operated in the Arcadia Hotel. It is constructed of riveted steel plates and features six "spy holes". Various tools for raking etc. remain nearby.[18][3]

The Carrington Hotel is a four-storey architectural conglomeration dating from 1882, with numerous later additions. It is one of the finest resort hotels in the State with several outstanding features.[3] The facade is richly decorated, its undulating Italianate balcony is set on columns over a paved piazza. A wall of stained glass encloses the former verandah and provides an excellent example of Art Nouveau glazing.[3]

The Central Dining Hall is an impressive interior space, measuring 12 by 18 metres (40 by 60 ft) in size, with an enriched panelled plaster ceiling, timber dado, high columns and a row of windows to either side, each a panel of etched glass with stained glass surround.[3] The Billiard Room and adjoining double lounge area are robustly detailed, with arched brick fireplaces and stained glass windows.[3] The former Library is panelled and beamed in Edwardian taste and is complete with wide shelves for display of china and lead glazed bookshelves.[3] The Ballroom was decorated in the twenties after the Adam style.[3] Present Cocktail Lounge is illuminated by an Art Nouveau stained glass dome.[3] Two bronze torches in the central hall. The "wing" Bedroom Suites' of 1927 are impressive, each with its own bathroom, built-in wardrobe and leaded and coloured glass window.[3] Small Lounges in the bedroom areas are typically furnished with writing desks, long settees and central ottomans.[3] Bathrooms in the main building have exotic Art Nouveau glazing to their doors.[3] The hotel also retains many interesting pieces of furniture and fittings, including the intriguing "needle" showers dating from c. 1913.[19][3]

As at 9 December 2013, the physical condition is good.[3]

The documentary evidence available for the Carrington Hotel garden fronting Katoomba Street indicates several phases of modification of the grounds. Physical evidence of older features such as terracing/ paths, site of the croquet lawn and tennis court still survive and is evident in some of the surface contours, especially in the area of the Lower Terrace.[3]

There are also areas of former hard-paved surfaces, kerbing and guttering along the driveway loop. Particularly notable are the four remaining, handsome stone gate posts at the northern entry on Katoomba Street. The site and foundations of a fifth post (removed from the drive in the 1970s but with fabric still present within the grounds) may survive archaeologically. The driveway was realigned in 1912, and archaeological evidence relevant to that alteration may also be present.[3]

Landscape archaeology may also be expected to be able to clarify matters such as the presence and extent of sub-surface features such as the edge of the central garden path, and precise position of now vanished structures such as the timber pergola, tennis court, garden plantings and garden edges.[20][3]

It remains much of the fabric of its major phases of development.[3]

• 1882 - construction commenced
• 1883 - construction completed
• 1887-1889 - additional wing, dining hall, two drawing rooms and music rooms
• 1904-1911 - various alterations, redecorations, including lavatories, baths and water closets on each floor
• 1911-1912 - new Main Street bar, motor garage at rear and new driveways
• 1912-1913 - construction of stone and wrought iron gates to Katoomba Street, front terrace, steps and balcony, stained glass to verandah, pine trees removed and garden redesigned
• 1923-1927 - attic bedrooms enlarged, flat roof terrace built, additional bedrooms at southern end, dining room enlarged, lift installed. Western end of original north wing demolished and new wing added with 23 bedrooms. Walls removed to create cocktail lounge and ballroom.
• 1970s fifth front gate entry post removed (to widen entry)
• 1993 - Repainting, lighting, carpet and doors and fireplaces restored.
• 2002 - front garden redevelopment for Carrington Place town square, lowering of ground levels of old tennis court to provide flat area near street, part demolition of front wall to build new entry steps, new side entries off driveways, new paving and planting of lower front garden, new lighting, new public artworks.[3]

• Attraction Homepage (2007). "Carrington Hotel".
• Bates, Geoff (1980). Centenary of the Carrington Hotel, 1880-1980.
• EJE Heritage (2013). Statement of Heritage Impact - Carrington Hotel, Katoomba NSW - Proposed Boutique Brewery, Restaurant/Bistro and Car Park.
• Heritage Division. Paper File (former) HC32361.
• Lavelle, S. for Jack, I. (2001). State Heritage Inventory Form for Carrington Hotel & Grounds # 1170391.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Lavelle, S., & Fallon, M. (Integrated Design Associates) (2003). Carrington Hotel Grounds - Lower Terrace: Report on Archaeological Investigations.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Lavelle, S., with Somerville, J., & Fallon, M. (2002). Carrington Gardens Driveway Loop Archaeological Assessment and Construction Monitoring Report (Draft).CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Stapleton, M. (1978). National Trust Classification Card - Carrington Hotel.
• Orwell and Peter Phillips Architects (1987). Conservation Plan for The Carrington Hotel.
• Tourism NSW (2007). "The Carrington Hotel".

This Wikipedia article contains material from Carrington Hotel, entry number 00280 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 1 June 2018.