page_title: Mondeval, Leura
section_title: Later history
hierarchical_section_title: Mondeval, Leura / Later history
caption_attribution_description: English: Linda Sparke Davies of Mondeval, Leura
context_page_description: Mondeval in Railway Parade, Leura is a house of historical significance and is listed on the NSW Heritage list. It was built in about 1890 and is a rare example of a Victorian Regency house with high quality finishes. It was one of the first houses built in Leura and was the residence of several notable people over the next century. Today it is the head office of the Cancer Wellness Support Organisation.
context_section_description: Sir Allen Arthur Taylor (1864-1940) who bought Mondeval in 1910 changed the name of the house to Quipolli. He was a ship owner, member of Parliament and for many years the Mayor of Sydney. In 1886 he married Adela Mary Elliott and the couple had one child named Forster Taylor. They also had a house called Wootton in Darlinghurst. The family used Mondeval as a holiday property and had many happy gatherings for the first few years. However they decided to return to the city by 1915 and the house was sold to the Davies family who lived there for about then years.
  Lewis James Davies (1862-1936) was a partner in the firm Davies and Fehon who imported cars. He was very wealthy and it was mentioned in the newspaper that “all that money could buy went to beautify the house.” He was born in 1862 in Liverpool, England. His father Lewis Davies (1833-1920) was a wealthy shipowner. In 1906 he married Linda Sparke (1885-1971) who was the daughter of Edward Joseph Sparke. The couple had three children and for many years they enjoyed holidays in their mountain home. In 1924 they decided to live solely in Sydney and they generously gave the property to the Anglican Church who used the house as a home for orphaned and homeless girls. The Quipolli Girls Home operated from 1924 until 1936. The first Maton was Miss Amy Adeline Mann (1862-1929). She ran the home with Violet Eileen Clinch (1885-1967) who was the Sister at the time. When Amy left several years later Violet took over as Matron until its closure in 1936.
  In 1940, Edith Hurlow Jones purchased the house, renamed it “Chequers” and converted it into flats.
  Edith was the first woman councillor at Katoomba and lived in Leura until about 1950. The property sold in 1950 and continued to be used as flats until 1971. During the seventies it was converted again to a single residence. In the 1980s it became a gallery and residence and was renamed 'Mondeval'.
caption: Linda Sparke Davies
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