Woodstock, Burwood

Woodstock is a heritage-listed home in the Sydney suburb of Burwood. It was built in 1871 by Edwin Thomas Penfold and changed hands a number of times before being acquired by Burwood Council.HistoryConstruction of "Woodstock"Edwin Thomas Penfold, who made his fortune working on the goldfields and by establishing a successful tobacco business in Sydney, was living in the suburb of Randwick, at a cottage called Sandgate, when he decided to purchase 6 acres of land at Church Street, Burwood, in 1871. He ordered the construction of Woodstock, a two-storey, Victorian Italianate villa, where he moved in with his wife Susannah Clarke. His son was later born there. (It is believed the name Woodstock was derived from the novel written by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1826, named Woodstock.) The house remained with the Penfold family until 1895. One of Penfold's descendents would later buy William Moffitt's printing and stationery firm and renamed it W. C. Penfold & Co, one of the largest stationary companies in Australia.Until 1907, Woodstock was owned by Edward Scholes, a prominent local identity of the Strathfield and Burwood areas. He was a barrister in law and later a Judge of the District Court of New South Wales. Scholes had a long involvement in local government, serving as an Alderman on Burwood Council for twelve years and Mayor in 1891. He later lived at Brunyarra in Strathfield. In 1886, he married Gertrude Annie Keep, daughter of John Keep, who ran Keep McPherson Hardware Merchants and was a member of a prominent local family.