It is the oldest house in the Hunter Valley and is heritage listed..[3] Located in the outskirts of Lochinvar, it was built on a land grant and constructed from sandstone.
Thomas White Melville Winder[4] was granted the land and commissioned the house using convicts as the source of labour and workmanship.
Thomas (“Tom” or “Thom”) White Melville Winder[5] (1787-1853) was born in England in 1787 (1789 per,[2] 1779 per[6]), some details around his parentage and time of birth are unable to be confirmed.
The lecture at the Newcastle University suggested that he was born in 1779 as the illegitimate son of the Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington and Lady Mary Melville.
He came to Sydney (NSW, Australia) in 20 November 1817[2][7] on the ship Frederick, and married Ellen Johnstone[8] (spelt Johnson by[9]) on 26 December 1848.
Windermere was reportedly the favourite residence of William Charles Wentworth and he divided his time there and at Vaucluse.
[11] He was offered significant grants of land, but there is some evidence that he only accepted what he thought he really needed for his family, the community and for the growth of the area.
[12] It was problematic for farmers in the area when persons from the local Aboriginal community took some of the produce from the farm without a mutual understanding.
[13] There was a person of Aboriginal descent living on Winder property (around Windermere) affectionately called the “Constable”.
[14] It is suggested that these persons of Aboriginal descent[14] were respected for their work in keeping the residence and surrounding properties safe from non-local persons of Aboriginal descent and checking the activities of workers (perhaps including the activities of convicts) at the farm.
[2] Government policy and recommendation at the time was for convicts to be kept away from “Sydney temptations” and learn useful skills in order to reform and settle in as community members.
[13] Private and merchant farmers were seen as targets that could provide this training in order to help these people learn skills and integrate into the community.
[15] October 3, 1849, Wentworth’s speech regarding starting the University of Sydney as a gift “to the child of every man, of every class, to become great and useful in the destinies of his country.”[15] William Charles Wentworth fought for the rights of ex-convicts to be citizens, to vote and to be free of taxes other than those imposed by legislation and encouraged free migration.
[9] Previously inhabited by farmers and convicts, it was recorded that the Winders left Sydney to reside in the house on 1 June 1824.
William Charles Wentworth wanted to purchase the Windermere Estate from Thomas White Melville Winder but was unable to raise the funds.
[2] On 1 April 1835 Williams Charles Wentworth purchased the properties and mortgaged the estates to Winder on the same day.
[9] The position on a hill in this advertisement was described as an advantage as the area had recent flooding described as an “annoyance” and “detrimental to the town”.
[9] Peter, his wife, Lorna and their daughters, Annabel and Phillips, were the fourth and fifth generation of the Capp family to live in the house.
[9] The Newcastle area was closely involved with the family, providing advice on restoration<.ref name=":2">"Frank Scanlon (1906-1986) - History of Windermere, Cessnock Historical Society.
Retrieved 2024-04-15. In 1940, the Government desired to destroy Windermere house by converting it to a place of entertainment for a military general.
[16] A camp was to be sited to the adjacent flood-subjected land, the Capp family fought for the history and to preserve Windermere.
[1] The workers were also given good food allowances including corned meat and a pint of wine each day.
Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington treated the soldiers in the Napoleonic war, how he felt that looking after the army well was a good investment because then they would also fight well.
It was suggested that the reason was that in the area at the time was due to the isolated region location and the necessity to place capital into farm developments.
[9] When Charles Solomon Capp purchased the property in 1879 (1870 per[9]) “Windermere” was made with sandstone and had 30 rooms plus a double-storey brick stables and a coach house.
[18] Flooring boards in early houses in the Colony of Australia and in the Hunter[9] region were usually pit sawn.
[21] Clay that is moistened would be tempered by shovel, kneading the mass to make it stick together and prevent cracking.
[22] In 1797 a small coastal ship sailed north from Sydney carrying stores for Upper Hawkesbury settlers.