The Hunter River Times

BY DI SNEDDON

Singleton’s Phillip Boyd might not be keen to get in front of the camera but he is proud to showcase his historic home, a heritage property he says his late wife, Anne turned into a home.

Anne and Phillip moved into their home, located in Singleton, on April 7, 1978, but it was back when a young Phillip first spotted the property in 1971 that he admired the home called Frome from the street.

Phillip had accepted an offer to work as an article clerk with the iconic law firm, Shaw Dunlop and Co.  In the afternoons he would take a walk from his Howe Street rental and admired Frome thinking to himself it would be a nice property to own.

After admission as a Solicitor, meeting Anne on Australia day in London in 1973, he returned to Sydney. After marriage in Sydney on July 12, 1975 [Orangeman’s Day] he soon found himself back in Singleton, this time with Anne and two sons. Frome came on the market and was passed in at auction in 1977 and an offer made by the Boyds was accepted in 1977 and so the family became the custodians of a property with a wonderful history they would become part of.  Partnership with Shaw Dunlop soon followed their purchase.

In a beautifully written article by Anne, published in Hearts of the Hunter (Vol 2) back in 2016, Anne wrote ‘to live in an old home is akin to being a caretaker, not only of the fabric of the building but of the heritage or previous inhabitants who have left their presence.  I wish I could invite them all to a dinner party to learn their stories.”

Despite intensive research, the desire to learn the history of the home’s name has never been accomplished but it is an answer Phillip hopes to uncover before he says goodbye to Frome.

Located on land originally granted to John Howe in June, 1823, a certificate of title for the land dated 1901 shows Arthur Batson Shaw purchased seven acres (portion 12 of Parish) and proceeded to build Frome.

The Shaws had two daughters, Una and Winifred.  The story goes that Una was not permitted to marry her sweetheart who died in World War 1 and she went on to live her life, caring for needy humans and animals.  Una moved from Frome to ‘Greenwood’ at Whittingham, a larger property where she lived out her life in the mode of St Francis of Assisi.  Winifred studied astronomy and had a telescope in the garden and a timber balustrade on the rear roof of Frome of which evidence remains today for the trained eye when Phillip points it out.

The property was sold to the O’Brien family in 1919 for the mighty sum of 2450 pounds and the ownership was transferred to Ellen Maria Reynolds (daughter of James Alexander O’Brien) in 1950.

The Reynolds had one son, Bill, and Phillip and Anne appreciated a dinner they shared with Bill raising memories of living at Frome especially during the infamous 1955 flood.

Some 70 people came and went during and in the aftermath of the flood, camping on the then enclosed verandah.  As a five-year-old, Bill would accompany his father and uncle in a row boat over to the hospital to collect essential items to feed those seeking refuge at the time.

Prior to the Boyds buying Frome, the Van Edens lived at the property for six years installing a swimming pool and two additional bathrooms.

The home has retained its grandeur over the years and Anne and Phillip’s love of heritage and history has seen the original interior restored and antiques collected over the years add to the period aesthetics.

There are rooms, lots of them and it is easy to get a little lost but Phillip has his favourite place that takes in the sun and a beautiful outlook of the verandah out into the garden where he reads and does his paperwork and there is plenty of that.

As Secretary of Singleton Men’s Shed, Phillip’s job is to keep on top of the paperwork but his involvement with this organisation has certainly come in handy when it comes to Frome’s upkeep.

“You can see there was no expense spared when it was built but there is the upkeep, I have put in a ‘more comfortable bathroom’, we removed the carpet and polished the floorboards and I am still working my way around the house to build flyscreens for the doors and the windows and I have taken a lot of advice from Gerry Winter (Men’s Shed President) on how best to do this so it is in keeping with the home’s heritage,” Phillip said.

Phillip’s sons and grandchildren visit often and Damian is slowly bringing belongings from Sydney to Frome and looks like he is preparing to move in.

“Well, that’s the plan,” Phillip said with a broad grin.