Preston - Birrell Street - Woollahra - New South Wales
Preston was a well known Mansion in Birrell Street that overlooked Waverley Park. It was formerly the Residence of Mr Richard Craven.
Preston had Fully laid out Grounds. including a full carriageway, gardens, lawns, tennis courts etc etc
It Contained a Magnificent Ballroom in the modernised Greek Style.Spacious lounges approached by the front and back balconies.
the Fittings are luxurious and highly artistic engraved margins and corners. And the ceilings are all hand worked metal in high finished bronze work. heavily electroplated, beautifully designed cornices, richly decorated panels, hand painted mirrors, and magnificent gas fittings contribute to the decorative scheme of this magnificent ballroom.
The Billiard room is also very beautiful apartment, All the doors, architraves, skirtings and fittings being in massive cedar work.
The ceilings are executed with highly coloured panels enriched, surrounded by a curiously decorated embellished mirrors and over door pediments, a deeply recessed alcove in which is fitted exquisite Mantle and fireplace. The whole is fitted with an elaborate swan neck grate
"PRESTON," A MAGNIFICENT SYDNEY MANSION.
The above are photographs of "Preston," the well-known residential mansion in Birrell-street, overlooking the Waverley Park, formerly the residence of the late Richard Craven, and just purchased by Messrs. J. Earle Hermann, Ltd., for a member of their company. This is one of Sydney's finest mansions, and is set in beautifully-laid-out grounds, with carriage drive, gardens, lawns, tennis court, &c. It contains a magnificent ballroom, the style of which is modernised Greek. Spacious lounges are approached by the front and back balconies; the fittings are luxurious, and the finishings highly artistic. There is a wealth of plate-glass, with engraved margins and corners, while the ceilings are all hand-worked metal, in high finished brass work, heavily electro-plated, beautifully designed cornices, richly-decorated panels, hand-painted mirrors, and magnificent gas-fittings contribute to the decorative scheme of this magnificent ballroom.
The billiard-room is also a very beautiful apartment, all the doors, architraves, skirtings, and fittings being in massive cedar work. The ceilings are executed in deeply-coppered panels, moulded and enriched, surrounded by a curiously-decorated cornice. There are massive doors, with embellished mirrors and overdoor pediments, a deeply-recessed alcove and dais, in which is fitted an exquisite mantel and fireplace. The whole is fitted with an elaborate swan-neck grate
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[Two photographs under the text: the exterior of the house, and an interior with a panelled ceiling.]