Weekly Events Calendar

Vaucluse House. Photograph Brett Broadman
vaucluse_house

Houses and their owners have a tendency to be reflections of one another. Vaucluse House presents venerable Gothic Revival façades to Sydney Harbour but the mansion, built in fits and starts between 1805 and the early 1860s, is in a mixture of styles, is unresolved in terms of its layout and lacks the social grace of a formal entrance.

Its builder, William Charles Wentworth (1790-1872) is known today as one of our early colonial statesmen. His sense of his place in societywas undermined by illegitimacy and convict associations. With the rising tide of Victorian morality his wife Sarah was shunned as lacking respectability and the family had to socialise outside of colonial society. Vaucluse House’s lack of cohesion is perhaps a result of Wentworth’s brooding anger at this slight and the house’s slow growth over decades. In contrast with the house, the grounds preserve a remarkably complete 19th century estate plan with stables, rural outbuildings, carriage drives, paddocks, lawns, a serene pleasure garden and recreated Victorian kitchen garden. Read the guidebook | Read the newsletter

PIETRA DURE TABLE TOP

Pietra Dure Table Top, Mosaic of hard stones, Italy c1858, Vaucluse House collection

A souvenir from the Wentworth family's Grand tour of Italy in 1858–1859.

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TEAROOMS

Vaucluse House Tearooms
Catch up with friends and family this summer at the Vaucluse House Tearooms.
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EXPLORE

WHAT'S ON
AT
VAUCLUSE HOUSE
Special events this summer at Vaucluse House.
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Location: Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, NSW 2030

Contact: 02 9388 7922

Admission:

  •  Adult $8 I
  •  Child/Concession $4 |
  •  Family $17 |
  •  Members free |
  • Wheelchair access

Hours: Open 9.30am to 4pm Friday to Sunday | Open daily in January and NSW School Holidays and public holidays | Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day

Transport:

Language guide:

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