page_title: Studley Park, Narellan
section_title: 1888-1902 Payne era - Studley Park
hierarchical_section_title: Studley Park, Narellan / History / 1888-1902 Payne era - Studley Park
caption_attribution_description: English: Advertisement for builders to construct Studley Park, Camden, NSW in 1889.
context_page_description: Studley Park is a heritage-listed former defence establishment, grammar school and private residence and now clubhouse and golf course located at Camden Valley Way in the south-western Sydney suburb of Narellan in the Camden Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by A. L. & G. McCredie and built from 1888 to 1889. It is also known as Payne's Folly, St. Helen's School, Campbelltown-Camden Grammar School and Camden Co. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
  On 22/11/2019 a concept development application was lodged covering Studley Park and part of the adjoining golf course for a staged development comprising demolition, restoration works to Studley Park House, construction of 2 story hotel and at-grade parking, construction of 4 residential flat buildings with 2-4 stories and basement parking as well as associated road access, vegetation removal, landscaping and civil infrastructure.
context_section_description: On 2 October 1888 businessman William Charles Payne bought the combined property of 200 acres from Thompson for £1,400. He authorised A. L. & G. McCredie of Sydney to construct the house, stables and a granary/engine house. The engine house reportedly contained a steam traction engine and a dynamo which provided electricity to the house. A lengthy article in the Australasian Building and Contractors News edition dated 20 July 1889 described the project. It called the house a "picturesque looking villa-residence, in a light Italian style". A rendered drawing view of the house from the west incorporated the two floor plans produce by the McCredies at the time of construction. The original drawings are in the Mitchell Library as part of a collection of architectural drawings belonging originally to a William Keen. He was a Sydney architect born in England and trained at the Royal Academy School, London, before migrating to Australia in 1886. It has not been able to be ascertained if Keen was employed by A. L. & G. McCcredie.
  Payne named the property "Studley Park". Ray Herbert writes that Payne named it after a property near where his father-in-law lived at Ripon in England. He also writes that at the time of construction four workers' cottages were built near the main road. These were visible on an aerial photograph taken in 1947, three side by side fronting Camden Valley Way with the fourth a little further away to the west, in the north-eastern corner of the original Studley Park landholding. It seems unlikely that these were constructed for workers on Studley Park as the project seems too small to warrant separate workers' accommodation. The area where the cottages were was further subdivided during the 1970s, resulting in formation of Wilton Crescent and the surrounding modern residential development.
  There is no evidence Payne intended Studley Park to be a self-supporting farm. What is more likely is that it was established as a country retreat. Many such estates were established around the outskirts of Sydney during the latter half of the 19th century. Prosperity in the colony since the 1850s gold rushes had helped establish a class of wealthy merchants and business people who established such estates, thus imitating the behaviour of a similar class of people in England at the time. Within the Camden area a number of examples of gentlemen's country estates/residences were built in the 19th century. Structures such as Camelot at (nearby) Kirkham, Camden Park House, built for the Macarthur family, and Fernhill at Mulgoa to the north are examples. The main feature of these holdings was a grand house situated on a part of the landscape so as to be visible to neighbours and surrounding residences. The house at Studley Park is a good example of this, situated on a rise and equipped with a tower (Campanile) which enhances its visibility and makes it a prominent landmark in the area. The visibility and grandness emphasises the perceived importance of its owner and visually underlines their standing in society.
  Studley Park was built at the height of a housing boom. Due to its size, grandiosity and the cost incurred, it came to be known as Payne's Folly. At the back is a large block containing stables and coach house.
  Due to its elevation the house has clear views of (and its tower in particular can be viewed from) other colonial landmarks in the district such as the spire of St. John's Church, Camden, Camelot (formerly Kirkham), Harrington Park and Orielton estates.
  The opulent mansion bankrupted Payne: he sold it in 1902 and it became Camden Grammar School.
caption: Advertising for a builder for Studley Park in the Sydney Morning Herald on 9 February 1889
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