Smithfield House is a heritage-listed villa at 8 Panda Street, Harristown, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by architectural firm James Marks and Son and built from onwards. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
History
Smithfield House was designed by James Marks & Son in 1895 for James Taylor, a wealthy Darling Downs landowner. The contractor was Sydney (Harry) Andrews.
James Taylor is considered to have been the driving force behind Toowoomba's development, as he invested heavily in land in Toowoomba particularly during the late 1850s. Taylor took a leading role in encouraging the social, cultural and economic development of Toowoomba, donating land to various groups and churches, and he became known as "the King of Toowoomba". Taylor was Mayor of Toowoomba in 1890 and was a Member of Parliament between 1860 and 1893. Smithfield was the third house built by James Taylor. It was built on a 300-acre section of land on the southern side of the Toowoomba border, at the edge of the township of Drayton. Taylor planted and tended a fine stand of trees flanking the long carriageway, which, it has been suggested, have been preserved in parkland across from the homestead, though this has yet to be determined.
James Marks was one of the most influential architects in Toowoomba from the late 1860s until the early twentieth. He and his son Harry Marks with whom he entered into partnership in 1892 came to dominate the architectural profession on the Darling Downs for more than half a century. James Marks' own works include St Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral in James St, Toowoomba and St Matthew's Anglican Church in Drayton. Smithfield House was designed under James Marks & Son whose works also include the Bandstand in Toowoomba Botanical Gardens, Ascot House in Toowoomba and Vacy Hall . James and Harry Marks have left a significant visible legacy in the buildings of Toowoomba of which Smithfield House is an important example.
James Taylor never lived at Smithfield house; he stayed at Clifford House. Smithfield's first occupant, ca. 1907, was Oscar Flemmich. Flemmich has been described as both a German industrialist and an Austrian nobleman. He built extensive stables in the grounds, but left Smithfield during World War I. His reasons for leaving have been attributed to pressure from anti-German communities in the area.
Part of the Taylor estate was sold to Darcy Winton, a Charleville grazier in 1908, and during the Second World War, the house was used as part of a private school. It was sold to the Anglican Church to house the Glennie Memorial School until 1962. Between 1962-1966 the property was leased by the Minter family from the Church of England
In 1966 it was sold for sub-division and during this time suffered a period of decay and attacks by vandals before restoration in the 1970s.
In 1974, Smithfield Homestead was bought by Barwick and Ceisolka. Initial plans to turn the property into a restaurant were objected to by Toowoomba residents, as indicted by letters to the editor in The Toowoomba Chronicle. However, any objections were unsuccessful as Smithfield Homestead was opened as a restaurant in 1975. In 1978 it was sold to Kelvin and Thelma Roche, who continued to operate Smithfield Homestead as a restaurant from 1975 until it was leased to Paul Hughes and Brian Pozzey in the early 1980s. Smithfield Homestead was one of the most popular restaurants in Toowoomba, hosting many functions including weddings and receptions.
The property was sold in 1995 and again in 2002 and 2003. In April 2017, the property was again up for sale with an asking price of $1,235,000.
Description
Smithfield House is located on the corner of Panda and Cheviot Streets, Toowoomba sited on a flat parcel of land. The site is composed of well manicured gardens which constitute what remains of the historical setting of the house.
Smithfield itself is a single storey residence of stone construction. The bluestone foundations extend deep into the ground. The sandstone was transported form England and the bluestone was quarried locally. The external walls are distinguished by bluestone blocks with rusticated sandstone quoins to door and window openings. The core of the building has a complex roof structure of corrugated iron with four prominent decorated sandstone chimneys. The bracketed eaves on the main roof impart an Italianate quality to the house.