Woodford Academy
| Now known as Woodford Academy, this historic property has had a multi-layered use with parts of the building dating back to the 1830s. It is the oldest collection of buildings on the Blue Mountains, the basic structure being of sandstone. Among its many uses, it has been The Woodman Inn, The King’s Arms, Buss’s Inn, a gentleman’s residence, school for young gentlemen, day school for local children, guest house, boarding house and private residence. Thomas Pembroke, some years after release from his sentence completed the first buildings on the site, circa 1834 after he was granted two acres and later a further 48 acres. He used stone masons and timber splitters to construct a building which may have later become the schoolroom, Fairfax sitting room and the three small adjoining rooms. Woodford Academy stands close to the place where William and Mary James ran a “sly grog” shop for people travelling through the mountains on their way to Bathurst and further inland to settle on the land. In the 1850s itbecame a stopover for people on their way to the goldfields in search of their fortunes. |
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