Addington House

Addington House is a heritage-listed former farm, residence and orchard and now community facility located at 813 Victoria Road, Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1794 to 1841 in different stages by James Stewart, James Shepherd, Thomas Bowden. It is also known as New Farm. The property is owned by City of Ryde. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

The Ryde area was highly suitable for farming and orchards, and early grants to marines were given to encourage agriculture. In 1792 land in the area was granted to 8 marines; two of the grants were in the modern area of Ryde. Isaac Archer and John Colethread each received 32 hectares (80 acres) of land on the site of the present Ryde-Parramatta Golf Links, now in West Ryde. Later in 1792, in the Eastern Farms area, twelve grants, most of them about 12 hectares (30 acres), were made to convicts. Much later these farms were bought by John Macarthur, Gregory Blaxland and the Reverend Samuel Marsden. The district remained an important orchard area throughout the 19th century.

Between 1794 and 1806 emancipated convict James Stewart owned this 12-hectare (30-acre) grant, (the area) named "New Farm" – it was now 1/12 of the original grants made at "Kissing Point" as the area was then known. He built a small three-room cottage of sandstock bricks. In 1798 farmers at Kissing Point registered complaints to Governor Hunter about poor control exercised over the receipt of grain at the public stores in Sydney. One of these farmers was James Stewart. Stewart died in 1806 and the estate was auctioned, including "a good dwelling house" and effects.

James Shepherd owned New Farm's 12 hectares (30 acres) between 1809 and 1933. Shepherd acquired the farm in 1809 for A£70. It is uncertain when Addington was first built. Architectural evidence suggests that the earliest part of the house may date to 1810 and it was first occupied by Isaac Shepherd. In 1810 the property was taken over by Shepherd, who completed the central section by building a six-room sandstone house around the original three-room cottage. 1822 Thomas Bowden, the colony's first professional school teacher, add

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