William Richards
Master Builder
1854 - 1944

The suburbs of Burwood, Enfield and Strathfield in Sydney, NSW, have many beautiful examples of Victorian and Federation domestic architecture.  Tucked away between two busy roads - Liverpool Road and Burwood Road - is a small oasis of calm and turn-of-the-century charm, Hoskins Estate, Appian Way.   In 1900 businessman George Hoskins conceived the idea of creating a model housing estate for the professional, or middle class population of Burwood, and the result is 26 of Sydney's finest federation arts and crafts style houses.   While the overall concept of the estate was George Hoskins', the design and construction of the houses was the responsibility of William Richards.

I saw this estate for the first time a few years ago and was stopped in my tracks by the charm of the houses and the streetscape itself.  The houses are on large blocks, their gardens are beautiful, original trees still line the footpaths, and the houses are the prettiest federation houses I've ever seen.

Their designer and builder, William Richards, was my great grandfather.  He came to Australia from Wales as a young man with his wife Jane and we, his descendants, are proud of his contribution to our heritage.

William's wife, Gwenda Jane, in the garden of their home at Burwood (c.1905)