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The remarkable Grossmann and Brough House in Maitland, Hunter Valley is in the Trust’s care and part of a portfolio of 15 other house museums interpreted to represent their most significant era. Each year the stories of Grossmann and Brough are told to over 3,500 visitors. These visual and verbal stories primarily reflect the 1870’s and 1880’s - during the domestic occupancy of Isaac Beckett and Samuel Owen and their families.

However there are more stories to be told. The original Wash-House and Dry Laundry will be opened and newly presented showing them as they would have been in their heyday. Conserving and interpreting this domestic space would assist in accurately reflecting the lives and lifestyles of its inhabitants and enhance the visitor experience at this iconic property.

Your donation will be directed to ensuring the smaller buildings on the property are not overlooked.

The Domestic Spaces project of the Wash-House and Dry Laundry would:
     • Complete urgent maintenance
     • Implement interpretative devices to tell the story of the buildings original use               
     • Conserve the collection items that would help tell the story of the past
     • Undertake additional research towards the interpretation of this building

In the past year Grossmann and Brough House have received over $100,000 in Federal Government funding as part of the Australian Government Jobs Fund Program. This funding will enable the Trust to complete urgent repairs and conservation works on the two main houses. A recent art exhibition and auction by local artists also raised over $10,000 to help fix the leaking roof at Brough House.

We are hoping to build on the momentum of these recent and current works to provide a richer experience at the property -  with your help this could be possible.

Current works
Trades people from the region will shortly be carrying out urgent conservation and repairs to the historic Grossmann and Brough House to ensure their preservation as fine examples of 19th century Victorian architecture. There will be a noticeable improvement in the condition of the building fabric of the two main houses as a result of roof repairs, guttering and drainage works and upgrades to electrical and security services. This work demonstrates the commitment of the Australian Government and the National Trust to preserving our significant heritage.

However, the above funding will not cover the Domestic Spaces project of the Wash-House and Dry Laundry.

We need your help to reach our target of $50,000 which will make the project a reality.

History
Grossmann House was built in Maitland as Entcliffe in 1870 by Isaac Beckett, a merchant whose business had prospered as the Hunter Valley town grew in size and wealth. Next door, on the same site, Beckett’s business partner and close friend Samuel Owen built the mirror-image Brough House for his own family. In 1935, Entcliffe was renamed in honour of Miss Jeannette (Janet) Grossmann MA, Principal of Maitland Girls’ High School from 1890 to 1913. The school occupied the property for a significant number of years (1890 - 1964), Miss Grossmann residing there from 1894 to1913.

The historical associations of these two buildings make them of great interest in their relationship to the original owners and later use as part of the Maitland Girls’ High School and Maitland City Council. The National Trust was granted permissive occupancy of Brough House in 1972. Between 1974 and 2004 the property was leased to Maitland City Council for use as a municipal art gallery.

The Wash-House and Dry Laundry
The gardens were generous in size and perhaps predictably, given the symmetry of Owen and Beckett’s arrangement, the laundry building is situated on the centre line of the properties. This simple rectilinear structure originally had a central partition, dividing the area, thus providing each resident with semi-private facilities. However it is probable that the laundry was shared by the two families and divided into a wet and dry space. At the time the houses were built a distinction was often made between the Wash-House - the wet area - and the Dry Laundry, which was the space for heating irons and ‘getting up’ linen, including starching.

The Wash-House at Grossmann and Brough House is currently a repository of traditional elements such as wooden washtubs, a copper boiler with its own source of heat, and a ‘Lily White Washer’ washing machine (c1898), apparently imported from the USA and assembled by a firm in Maitland. There is also a mangle with wooden rollers and a linen press. The latter two items would have been housed in the Dry Laundry. This would also have contained a source of heat for the flat iron, several long steady tables – preferably next to the windows – a folding ironing board, sleeve board and baskets.

The Grossman and Brough House collection captures the memories of our past. From these memories, stories are told about the domestic life at the property.

Your contribution will assist in restoring this essential facility to reflect its origins and will result in realising the full potential of both of the houses.

You can see that the Trust is making real progress on the restoration of Grossmann and Brough House.  As we turn our attention to the site as a whole, you can help us by making a donation today. Thank you.

How to donate:

• Simply call (02) 9258 0156 (9am - 5pm, Mon - Fri) with credit card details, or
• Donate online where you will receive an instant receipt, click here
  
• Or to make a donation by post please click here.

Thank you sincerely for helping us to protect our Australian heritage through advocacy, conservation and education.

Yours sincerely

Will Holmes à Court
Executive Director

Your tax deductible donation will be used to ensure remnant native bushland is conserved for future generations to enjoy. Please send your donation today.