Francis Greenway – Convict Architect – From a Bristol Death Sentence to Macquarie's Civil Architect, Every Building He Designed, and an Unmarked Grave at East Maitland – 1777 to 1837

For twenty-seven years Australians carried Francis Greenway around in their wallets. His face was on the first decimal ten-dollar note, issued in 1966 and in use until 1993, and his buildings were printed behind him. Many people at the time didn't know that the man on the tenner had been sentenced to hang for forgery. He came to Sydney in chains, became the colony's first government architect, gave Governor Macquarie the buildings he wanted for his town, fell out with nearly everyone, and died broke on a swampy farm in the Hunter. Nobody knows exactly where he's buried. Here's his story, and the story of every building I could trace to him.

Francis Howard Greenway, pencil portrait by an unknown artist, drawn sometime between 1814 and 1837. Image: unknown artist, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

A Family of Builders in the West Country

The Australian Dictionary of Biography says Francis Greenway was born at Mangotsfield, near Bristol, in 1777, son of Francis Greenway and Ann, née Webb. "The Greenways had been stonemasons, builders and architects in the west country for generations." Wikipedia gives his birthday as 20 November 1777. Museums of History NSW, drawing on James Broadbent and Joy Hughes' 1997 book Francis Greenway Architect, says he went into business with his brothers in Bristol in 1805. Their best-known job, and the only Greenway work still standing in England, was the Clifton Hotel and Assembly Rooms, now the Clifton Club. Only the front is his, because the family firm went bankrupt in April 1809, part-way through building it.

The Clifton Club in Bristol, built as the Clifton Hotel and Assembly Rooms. The facade is Greenway's only surviving work in England. Image: Whitewig24, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Forgery, a Death Sentence and Newgate

With the business gone, Greenway did something desperate. Museums of History NSW suggests he did it "perhaps in an attempt to restore the family business". He was tried at the Bristol Sessions on 23 March 1812 and found guilty of forging a document, which the same source says was a contract. Forgery was a hanging offence. The sentence was commuted to fourteen years' transportation to New South Wales. The ADB says he "was found guilty"; Wikipedia says he "pleaded guilty". I couldn't settle which is right from the sources I could open.

While he waited in Bristol's Newgate prison, he painted the life around him. One of those pictures, The Mock Trial, showing prisoners staging a pretend court, is now in the State Library of NSW.

"The Mock Trial", painted by Greenway himself inside Newgate Prison, Bristol, in 1812 while he waited to be transported. Image: Francis Greenway, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The General Hewitt, 1814

He arrived in Sydney on the convict transport General Hewitt on 7 February 1814. Museums of History NSW has read his convict indent, which records him as 34, with hazel eyes and light brown hair, 5 feet 6¾ inches tall. A month later, on 7 March 1814, he had a ticket of leave, and the clerk wrote that he was "good looking". His wife Mary and their three children followed him out in July on the Broxbornebury, the ADB says. The ADB gives two different dates for the marriage: one version says 27 April 1809 at St Michael's, Bristol, the other "about 1804".

His first private client was Dr John Harris, the surgeon on the General Hewitt, who had him enlarge his house on the Ultimo estate (Wikipedia, citing Broadbent and Hughes).

Lecturing the Governor

Then came the famous meeting with Lachlan Macquarie. The State Library tells it this way. Macquarie asked the new convict to copy a courthouse design out of a pattern book. Greenway answered by lecturing the governor on his taste. Museums of History NSW quotes his letter of 27 July 1814: it was "rather painful to my mind as a professional man to copy a Building that has no claim to classical proportions or character". He copied it anyway, but Macquarie had noticed him. In 1815 Greenway was advising on public works now and then. On 30 March 1816 he was appointed Civil Architect and Assistant Engineer, on 3 shillings a day, with quarters for his family and a horse and forage, according to the ADB. It was the beginning of the office of NSW Government Architect, which still exists.

Greenway lived in a house the government gave him with the job. I've written about the site in Francis Greenway's Residence – George Street, cnr Argyle Street.

Macquarie's Architect, 1816–1822

Over six years Greenway designed, altered or oversaw a remarkable run of buildings. The State Library sums up the range: "from lighthouses to obelisks; churches to stables; barracks and prisons to private dwellings". Macquarie told London in 1819 that Greenway's buildings were "not only Strong, durable and substantial, but also Elegant and good models of Architecture". The lighthouse earned him a conditional pardon on 16 December 1817, and the Barracks an absolute pardon in 1819. Museums of History NSW dates that pardon to 4 June 1819 and says Macquarie handed it over himself. The ADB connects it with the Barracks opening on 20 May.

Here's the list, building by building. I've marked where the credit is shared, disputed or only "attributed".

1. Macquarie Lighthouse, South Head (1816–18) – demolished, replaced by a replica

This was his first government job, according to the ADB. The stonework was finished in December 1817 and Macquarie was so pleased he gave Greenway his conditional emancipation on the spot. The light was lit in November 1818. The soft sandstone weathered badly, and James Barnet built a near-copy beside it. The ADB says the replica was built in 1880; Wikipedia and the Heritage Register put Barnet's tower at 1878–83. Greenway's tower was then pulled down. What stands at Vaucluse today is Barnet's, modelled on Greenway's.

The two Macquarie Lighthouses side by side, about 1883: Greenway's original on the left and James Barnet's replacement on the right. Photograph by Charles Bayliss. Image: Charles Bayliss, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The Macquarie Lighthouse today, Barnet's 1880s copy of Greenway's design. Image: Dietmar Rabich, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

2. Government House Stables (1817–21) – now the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Macquarie wanted a grand new Government House and left the design to Greenway. The ADB says he "promptly designed a castle and began a stable block so grand that it was often mistaken for Government House itself". London refused to pay for the castle, and Commissioner Bigge called the stables a piece of "useless magnificence", as quoted on Wikipedia. The Heritage Register says they were built 1817–1820 as a "castellated fort" in Gothick style. The courtyard was roofed over in 1913–15 to make the hall for the Conservatorium, and it's still there.

See my posts Sydney Conservatorium of Music – The Old Government House Horse Stables, Government House – Royal Botanic Gardens and Government House – Macquarie Street / Conservatorium Road.

Greenway's castellated Government House stables in 1872, photographed by Charles Percy Pickering. Image: Charles Percy Pickering, NSW Government Printer, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The old stables today as the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Image: sv1ambo, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

3. The Obelisk, Macquarie Place (1818) – still standing

This is the sandstone obelisk from which all road distances in the colony were measured. Wikipedia lists Greenway as architect, citing the Heritage Register. It's still in Macquarie Place. I covered it in The Roads Obelisk – Macquarie Place and Macquarie Place.

Greenway's 1818 obelisk in Macquarie Place, the starting point for the colony's road distances. Image: Sardaka at en.wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

4. Fort Macquarie, Bennelong Point (1817–21) – demolished 1901 (credit disputed)

This was a castellated fort on the tip of Bennelong Point. Its foundation stone was laid on 17 December 1817 and it fired its first salute in February 1821. The Dictionary of Sydney names Greenway as architect. Macquarie University's Journeys in Time project isn't so sure. It says Greenway promised completion in November 1820, but that "the engineer and draftsman responsible for the design is unknown", and that Lieutenant John Cliffe Watts was "quite likely" the main designer. It was demolished in 1901 for the Fort Macquarie tram depot, which was itself cleared in 1958–59 for the Opera House. See Fort Macquarie – Bennelong Point and The Sydney Opera House – From Cattle Point and Bennelong Point to Fort Macquarie.

Fort Macquarie on Bennelong Point, painted by Conrad Martens, 1836. Image: Conrad Martens, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Fort Macquarie's tower and guns, photographed by William Hetzer about 1858–59. Image: William Hetzer, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

5. Dawes Point Battery improvements (1819) – mostly demolished for the Harbour Bridge

Engineers Australia's heritage record says that in 1819 Macquarie ordered Greenway to improve the old Dawes Point fort, adding "a semicircular battery supported by a new decorative castellated guardhouse". The battery was strengthened again in the 1850s, and most of it was demolished in 1925 for the Harbour Bridge. Remnants survive under the southern approaches.

Dawes Point Battery as it looked in 1821, after Greenway's improvements, engraved after James Wallis. Image: Wallis, James, 1785?-1858, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

6. Hyde Park Barracks (1817–19) – a World Heritage-listed museum

This was built for convict men on Macquarie Street. The ADB says Macquarie opened it on 20 May 1819 "with great ceremony and a special feast for the prisoners". It was later used for immigrant women, courts and offices, was restored in the 1990s as a museum, and is now part of the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage listing. The ADB regrets "the wanton ruin" of the great compound, his "one example of planning in the grand manner". See Hyde Park Barracks and Queens Square.

Hyde Park Barracks, Greenway's convict barracks of 1817–19, on Macquarie Street. Image: Kgbo, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Convict hammocks rehung inside Hyde Park Barracks, now a museum. Image: Sputniktilt, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

7. Female Factory, Parramatta (designed by 1818–19) – part survives

The ADB says that "by 1819 he had designed a large female factory at Parramatta", a combined prison, workhouse and barracks for convict women. It later became part of a mental asylum, and parts of it survive in the North Parramatta heritage precinct. Museums of History NSW also lists it among his works. I wrote about it in Parramatta Female Factory – Fleet Street, North Parramatta.

The Female Factory at Parramatta, about 1826, by Augustus Earle. Image: Augustus Earle (1793-1838), via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

8. St Matthew's Church, Windsor (from 1817) – still in use

The ADB calls it "probably his masterpiece". The Heritage Register explains that a first church by builder Henry Kitchen was so badly built that Greenway condemned it and started again. It was consecrated by Samuel Marsden on 8 December 1822 and is still a working Anglican church above the Hawkesbury. The ADB says it later suffered "depressing alterations".

St Matthew's Church, Windsor, in 1906 (Royal Australian Historical Society). Image: Royal Australian Historical Society, via Wikimedia Commons (no known copyright restrictions).

St Matthew's, Windsor, in 2021. Image: Collywolly, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Inside St Matthew's, Windsor. Image: Neil Paton aka Sardaka at en.wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

9. St Luke's Church, Liverpool (from 1818) – still in use

The ADB says St Luke's was begun in 1818. The first builder, Nathaniel Lucas, died after the foundations went in and James Smith finished it. Greenway "tactlessly quarrelled with each builder". The church was later "grossly mutilated", but it's still the Anglican parish church of Liverpool.

St Luke's Church, Liverpool, 2023. Image: Chris.sherlock2, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The entrance to St Luke's, Liverpool. Image: Sardaka, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

10. St James' Church, King Street (1819–24) – still in use

This was begun as a courthouse and turned into a church when Bigge objected. The ADB calls it "his most classical design", ranking "among the finer Georgian buildings of its date". It was altered a good deal later, but it's still the city's oldest church in use. My full post is St James' Church, King Street – Greenway's Courthouse That Became a Church (older version: St James Church – 173 King Street).

St James' Church in 1836, drawn by John Gardner Austin. Image: John Gardner Austin, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

St James' Church today, under the towers of the modern city. Image: Kgbo, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

11. The Rum Hospital – repairs and alterations, not the design

The General Hospital on Macquarie Street was finished in 1816 and wasn't his design. Museums of History NSW says that in 1816 Greenway sat on a committee that found it riddled with faults, writing that "the Cap is set wrong upon the Column" and that "the future safety of the building requires an early attention". In September 1820 he drew up a scheme to strengthen the roofs. The two surviving wings are Parliament House and the Mint. Wikipedia's opening paragraph credits him with designing it; that's wrong, and his part was the repairs. See Sydney Hospital – The Rum Hospital.

12. The Supreme Court, King Street (from 1820) – much altered, still a court

The ADB lists it among his designs under Governor Brisbane. Wikipedia says he was dismissed before it was finished in 1828, and that James Barnet added to it later. It stands on the corner of King and Elizabeth Streets.

King Street in 1843 by Frederick Garling, looking up towards St James' Church and the courthouse area. Image: Frederick Garling (1806-1873), via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

13. Windsor Court House (1821–22) – still standing

Museums of History NSW lists "the Courthouse at Windsor" among his works. Heritage NSW search extracts give the design as 1821 and the building as 1821–22, and say it was restored in 1961. It's one of the best-preserved colonial courthouses in the state.

14. Liverpool Hospital (designed c.1820–22, built c.1825–30) – now TAFE (attributed)

The ADB names "a version of Liverpool Hospital (now the Technical College)" among his last designs. Museums of History NSW says building wasn't finished until 1830. The Heritage Register is more careful: the design was "initiated by Governor Macquarie and attributed to Francis Greenway". It's now TAFE NSW's Liverpool campus.

The former Liverpool Hospital, attributed to Greenway, now part of TAFE NSW Liverpool. Image: Sardaka, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

15. Smaller works and lost buildings

• Extensions to First Government House, Bridge Street. Listed by Wikipedia from the Heritage Register; demolished in 1846. See Governor Phillip's Garden.
• Stores at Parramatta and a police office in York Street, both demolished (ADB).
• The timber portico at Old Government House, Parramatta (Wikipedia).
• Cadmans Cottage, The Rocks. Wikipedia, quoting Haskell, says he supervised its construction in 1815–16.
• A design for St Mary's Catholic chapel, rejected as not grand enough (Wikipedia, citing Sternbeck, 2022).
• Clyde Bank, a private house of 1823, listed by the ADB.

16. Attributed, but not proven

• Cleveland House, Surry Hills (c.1823–24, built for Daniel Cooper). Heritage NSW says it "is believed to be the work of Francis Greenway"; the National Trust says "attributed". See my post Cleveland House – 146–164 Chalmers Street.
• Burdekin House, Macquarie Street. This one was built in 1842 (Dictionary of Sydney), five years after Greenway died, so he can't have designed it. An ANU thesis notes it "was attributed to Greenway" by 1920s enthusiasts for colonial architecture. It was demolished in 1933. See Burdekin House – 197 Macquarie Street.
• Hobartville, Richmond, and the Judge's House, Kent Street. Wikipedia lists both as uncertain; the Judge's House is also attributed to W. Harper.

Cleveland House, Surry Hills, which Heritage NSW believes to be Greenway's work. Image: Sardaka, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

Bigge, Brisbane and the Sack

Commissioner John Thomas Bigge arrived in 1819 to look into Macquarie's spending. The State Library says he "interfered in many of Greenway's architectural projects" and went around Macquarie to deal with him directly, which spoiled the old friendship between architect and governor. Macquarie left in 1821. The ADB says Governor Brisbane kept Greenway on but restricted him. Greenway kept pressing "his curious claim for fees", and Museums of History NSW calls one bill "ridiculously large". Builders began changing his designs without telling him, "the ultimate insult to any architect". He was dismissed on 15 November 1822.

Even then he wouldn't leave his government house. The ADB says he produced a document "since thought to be a forgery" claiming title to it, and the government only got the property back after his death, by going to court in London.

Poverty and a Grave Nobody Can Find

The last fifteen years were hard. In January 1835 he advertised in the Sydney Gazette that "arising from circumstances of a singular nature" he was "induced again to solicit the patronage of his friends and the public". He wrote reminiscences for the Australian Almanac of 1835, and in 1836 tried to float a company to build quays at Sydney Cove, which went nowhere. He farmed a grant on the Hunter River, land the ADB calls "marshy and poor".

He died there in 1837. The ADB says he "was buried in a small cemetery in a lonely paddock outside East Maitland. There is no tombstone or marker over his grave." The State Library agrees he lies in an unmarked grave near East Maitland. Wikipedia adds, citing Maitland City Council, that he probably died of typhoid, and that he is "believed to have been buried in the Glebe burial ground at East Maitland on 25 September 1837". The exact date of his death isn't known. He was about 59.

The Man on the Tenner

A hundred and thirty years later he was on the money. The first decimal $10 note of 1966 carried his portrait, with his buildings behind him. It's said to be the only banknote in the world to honour a convicted forger. His name is also on a federal electorate, a Canberra suburb, a Hunter high school, and, with what I like to think is a bit of a joke, a correctional complex near Windsor.

He was arrogant, quarrelsome and probably a forger twice over. He was also the man who gave Macquarie's Sydney its finest buildings. Next time you walk up Macquarie Street past the Barracks and St James', or stand under the Con's battlements, you're looking at his work.

References

• Morton Herman, "Greenway, Francis (1777–1837)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 1, 1966.
• Museums of History NSW, "Francis Greenway, Architect & Engineer" (2021), and "Francis Greenway: the 'future safety' of the Rum Hospital buildings"; "Visions on the future".
• State Library of NSW, "Francis Greenway: convict architect".
• Heritage NSW, State Heritage Inventory: Conservatorium of Music; St Matthew's Anglican Church, Windsor; Liverpool TAFE College (former Liverpool Hospital); Windsor Court House; Cleveland House.
• Dictionary of Sydney, "Fort Macquarie" and "Burdekin House".
• Macquarie University, Journeys in Time, "Fort Macquarie".
• Engineers Australia, Engineering Heritage, "Dawes Battery Remains".
• National Trust (NSW), "The history and heritage of Cleveland House".
• Wikipedia, "Francis Greenway" (for the birth date, typhoid, burial date, the tenner and the minor-works list).