John Verge (1788—1861) was an English architect who migrated to Australia and pursued his career there.
Contents |
Life and career
John Verge was born in Christchurch, Hampshire. Many generations of the Verge family had been bricklayers and stone masons. Verge married at the age of twenty-two and went to London. From 1804 to 1828, he worked in London in the building trade, becoming a man of means. Verge's marriage eventually failed and, in 1828, he migrated to Sydney, Australia with his son Philip, intending to take up a land grant.[1] He took up land on the Williams River, south of Dungog, New South Wales. Having insufficient capital to pursue pastoralism, Verge returned to the building industry between 1830 and 1837 before settling on 'Austral Eden', a pastoral property by the Macleay River in northern New South Wales.
Verge produced a number of fine houses in Sydney's eastern suburbs including Tusculum, Rockwall House, Barham and Rose Bay Lodge. He also built Lyndhurst and Toxteth Park in Glebe. Verge is also credited with Elizabeth Bay House built for Alexander Macleay, the Colonial Secretary. John Bibb, who worked for Verge, also worked on the project and James Hume from Scotland supervised the building. The relative contributions of Verge, Bibb and Hume are unknown. However, the beautiful oval staircase hall, perhaps the most celebrated interior in early Australian architecture, is attributed to Verge.
Verge's work was not confined to Sydney. 'Bedervale' homestead, near Braidwood, built in 1842, was designed by Verge.[2]The house he built for himself at Austral Eden was unfortunately destroyed by flood in 1864, three years after Verge's death, and no known sketches survive. Most of his papers were also lost in the flood.
Verge was also commissioned to build Camden Park House south of Sydney, by John Macarthur, the wool pioneer and successful colonial businessman.
 Rockwall House, Potts Point |
 Elizabeth Bay House, Elizabeth Bay |
 Tempe House, Arncliffe |
 St Scholastica's College, Glebe, formerly Toxteth Park |
Partial List of Works
The following Verge buildings are listed on the Register of the National Estate[3], excepting Toxteth Park and Rose Bay Cottage.
- St Paul's Church, Cobbity, circa 1840
- Camden Park, Menangle, 1835
- Extensions to Denham Court, Ingleburn, 1832, and chapel, 1838
- Lyndhurst, Glebe, Sydney, 1835
- Church of the Holy Innocents, Rossmore, circa 1848, possibly by Verge and Bibb
- Extensions, coachhouse and stables to Elizabeth Farm, Parramatta, 1830s
- Tempe House, Arncliffe, Sydney, 1836
- Barham, Darlinghurst, Sydney, 1833 (now Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School)
- Elizabeth Bay House, Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, 1835-38
- Vestries and eastern porches of St James's Church, Sydney, 1834
- Brownlow Hill, Cobbity, alterations of 1834 attributed to Verge
- Bedervale, Braidwood, 1836
- Christ Church, Bong Bong, 1845
- Tomago House, Raymond Terrace, 1843, attributed to Verge
- Rockwall House, Potts Point, Sydney, 1831-37
- Aberglasslyn House, Aberglasslyn, Maitland, circa 1840
- Toxteth Park, Glebe, Sydney, 1831, State Heritage listing [4](now St Scholastica's College)
- Rose Bay Cottage, Rose Bay, Sydney, 1834, State Heritage listing [5]
References
- ^ Historic Properties Website:Retrieved 26th June 2009
- ^ "Bedervale Braidwood history". Victoria Royds. http://bedervale.com/bedervale/history.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p.97
- ^ State Register:Retrieved 28th June 2009
- ^ State Register:Retrieved 28th June 2009
External links
- Guide to Elizabeth Bay House including biography of Verge
- Verge's houses in Glebe, Sydney
- Aberglasslyn House
- Early settlers of the Hunter including John Verge
- Sale of Lyndhurst, Glebe
 |
This article about an Australian architect or firm of architects is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
