[1] The Darug people were living in The Hills region for thousands of years before the Kellyville area was opened for white settlement in the early 1800s.

The area was slow to develop and had a generally rural character, with agricultural activities limited to small private farming, including wheat crops and fruit growing.

A regular coach service was established along the route between Parramatta and Windsor by the mid-1820s, and several inns soon sprung up at various points along the road, providing important rest stops for travellers and horses.

[1] The establishment he built on Windsor Road was called the White Hart Inn, and it commenced operation with Gough as the first publican, followed shortly after by William Cross in 1830.

Sarah's husband, John Booth, was the publican at the nearby Royal Oak Inn (also known as The Mean Fiddler), which was also established on Windsor Road in the mid-1820s.

A complete list of publicans' licenses at the White Hart Inn can be found in the excavation report prepared by EMM Consulting Pty Ltd in 2016.

[1] In an early description published in the Sydney Gazette,[3] the new "fine and noble looking" White Hart Inn was noted to possess elegant furnishings and be well supplied to cater for the needs of travellers.

There is a good garden well stocked with fruit trees and one hundred and ten acres of Land well fenced in and partly in cultivation".The property was purchased the following year by emancipated convict John Allen, who also served as the inn's publican for a time in the late 1840s.

The introduction of railway travel in the 1860s led to a decline in the demand for coach services and many roadside inns were consequently closed and later demolished or converted into private residences.

[1] From the later part of the nineteenth century, much of the land surrounding the inn site was subdivided and sold, with much of the local area now devoted to orchards and small dairy farms.

[1] An archaeological test excavation was undertaken at the site in late 2013 as part of the early works program of the Sydney Metro Northwest project, prior to the commencement of construction activities.

The investigation revealed potential archaeological deposits and intact structural features, including footings of the main inn building, a detached kitchen and a cistern.

The artefacts recovered from the site are typical of the kinds of items expected to have been used in a colonial inn, and are primarily related to the preparation and serving of food and drinks.

Other items, of both a commercial and domestic nature were also recovered, including coins (the earliest dating to 1816), pharmaceutical and perfume bottles, clay smoking pipes, a ceramic toothpaste container and buttons.

[1] The results of the excavation attracted significant public interest and a series of open days were held at the site prior to its conservation by reburial.

The archaeological remains are sufficiently intact to provide an indication as to the original layout of the inn, which appears to have been built to a standard form recognisable across NSW.

The earliest part of the building (c. 1827) is represented by large sandstone block footings, which based on historical descriptions, would have supported two-storeys.

[1] White Hart Inn Archaeological Site was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 24 August 2018 having satisfied the following criteria.

The White Hart Inn was one of several establishments opened along Windsor Road in the early nineteenth century, providing necessary food and accommodation to travellers.

A study of material culture from the site can form part of an investigation into consumption patterns and trade networks in NSW during the early nineteenth century.

Little is known about the inns that once lined Windsor Road during the nineteenth century as many were abandoned and demolished following the introduction of the railway in the 1860s and subsequent decline in the demand for coach services.