[1] Bishop's House, designed by Henry Marks, was constructed in 1911 as the home of Toowoomba businessman, William Charles Peak.

In laying out Drayton, Government Surveyor James Charles Burnett was instructed to mark out "suburban allotments for Garden and Agricultural purposes".

James Marks, Henry's father, arrived in Queensland from England in 1866 and practised as an architect and builder in Dalby before starting his successful family practice in Toowoomba in the 1870s which remained active until 1962.

[1] Henry Marks was an innovative and creative architect, who invented and patented several products including pot-bellied ventilation flues and chimney shafts, windows and a walling system.

[1] The first Bishop appointed to Toowoomba was James Byrne, born in Ireland in 1840 and educated at St Patrick's College, Thurles, County Tipperary.

[1] The residence originally used by James Byrne was the brick presbytery alongside St Patrick's Cathedral, constructed in 1927 for a parish priest before the archdiocese was formed, to a design by Jack Donoghue.

He then travelled to London to broaden his professional experience and returned to Queensland in 1896 and began private practice in Toowoomba in February 1897 where he remained until his death in 1943.

Changes introduced included forming an entrance vestibule on the front loggia/verandah; alterations of the semi-octagonal end bays with the removal and bricking up of several sash windows; a room was planned as a chapel; a bathroom was added to the eastern end of the house in an extension designed for that purpose and some internal rearrangement of existing walls and doors was carried out to facilitate access to this extension.

[1] Alterations to the grounds around the house included the demolition of the stables and replacement with a skillion roofed garage and construction of new entrance gates off Lindsay Street for motor-car access.

The building has a corrugated iron roof with projecting gables, a central clerestory surmounted by a cross, and three HJ Marks patented pot bellied chimney stacks.

The central entry has steps leading to a timber door with leadlight panel insert, sidelights and fanlight depicting a crest.

[1] The north elevation has an enclosed verandah with an accommodation wing attached at the northwest corner, which consists of a masonry section with a timber framed and fibrous cement clad addition with concrete stumps.

The verandah is enclosed with vertically jointed boarding to sill height and multi-paned sliding timber windows with fixed green glass panels above.

The east and west ends have a projecting five-sided bay room with masonry to sill height and extendable casement windows above.

A small brick addition with a parapet wall and sash window has been constructed on the southern side of the east bay room.

Principal rooms open to the south enclosed loggia, with French doors and an arched sash window with rendered voussoirs.

Ceilings are pressed metal of various designs, most of the doors and windows have patterned glass panels, and fireplace surrounds are of narrow face brick.

The east bay room has coloured glass door and windows, and a partition wall has been constructed to create a hall leading to the south addition.

The building is a very good example of the work of architect Henry Marks, combining much of his innovative detailing with a general concern for ventilation and natural lighting.

Bishop's House, together with its mature plantings, makes a significant aesthetic contribution to the Margaret Street streetscape and Toowoomba townscape.

The form and fabric of the building illustrate a creative and skilled design approach, and the detailing of the materials and finishes reflects a fine quality of workmanship.

The use of the extendable casement window and pot-bellied chimney stacks, as patented designs, are important in demonstrating a high degree of technical achievement by the architect Henry Marks during the early twentieth century.