[1] In 1875, John Farrelly bought four blocks of land in Limestone Street and progressively built four brick houses on them, now Nos 109, 107, 105 and 103.

[1] The house design makes it appear earlier than its actual date of construction and it is probably built partly from demolition materials.

Farrelly is recorded as having used recycled materials on several other occasions including the music block at St Mary's and Knockmoyra in Darling Street.

[1] The house is built into the hillside on Denmark Hill and from an early date, there were problems with the level of Limestone Street.

The four houses plus a cottage in Waghorn St (since demolished) were auctioned in late 1908 to settle the estate and No 103 was bought by the Watson family several months later.

At this time, it was converted into a professional office and a small extension was built on the western side to allow kitchen and bathroom facilities to be relocated from the northern verandah.

[1] The residence Penrhyn is a small two-storey load-bearing brick house with the external brickwork now covered in ruled render.

Because of the steep slope of the land, the house appears single storey along its street frontages but there is access to a lower floor from the northern side.

One of the main internal brick walls of the cottage is supported clear of the ground on a timber log bearer.

It is part of a larger precinct of historic houses grouped around Baines Park and, with its prominent corner position, contributes significantly to the streetscape and exhibits aesthetic characteristics valued by the community.