Francis Greenway

Francis Greenway

Francis Greenway (20 November 1777 - September 1837) was an English-Australian convict and colonial architect. He was convicted of forgery in England and sent to New South Wales, Australia (known then as New Holland) when he was 37 years old. There, Governor Lachlan Macquarie appointed him as the colony's official architect.

Even though he was a convict, Greenway became an important person in building the early colony. For the next 20 years, he designed many important buildings. These included the General Hospital, called the Rum Hospital, St James' Church, and the Macquarie Lighthouse. His designs used neoclassical styles and helped meet the needs of the growing colony.

Life and career

Francis Greenway was born in Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire, near Bristol, England. He worked as an architect in Bristol and Bath. In 1812, he was found guilty of forging a financial document. Instead of being punished harshly, he was sent to serve his sentence in Australia.

Greenway arrived in Sydney, Australia, in February 1814. There, he met Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who hired him to design important buildings. While still a convict, Greenway designed the Macquarie Lighthouse near Sydney Harbour. After this success, he was freed and became the colony's official architect. He went on to design many well-known buildings, including Hyde Park Barracks, St James' Church, Sydney, and parts of the Government House. Greenway passed away from illness in 1837 near Newcastle, New South Wales.

Posthumous tributes

Francis Greenway's face was on the first Australian decimal-currency $10 note from 1966 to 1993.

Many places and buildings are named after him. These include a voting area in New South Wales, a neighborhood in Canberra, a high school in Woodberry near Maitland, a road in Cherrybrook, and a home in Vaucluse owned by architect Leslie Wilkinson. There is also a correctional center near Windsor, New South Wales, named the Francis Greenway Correctional Complex.

Selected list of works

These buildings were designed by Greenway or show his style:

Structure name	Location	Period	Architectural style	Contribution	Heritage status	Image
Cadmans Cottage	The Rocks	1815–1816		Supervised construction
Cleveland House	Surry Hills			Contribution uncertain
Clifton Hotel and Assembly Rooms building	Bristol	1806–1809		Supervised construction	Grade II* listed building on the National Heritage List for England
First Government House, Sydney	Bridge Street, Sydney	1810–1820	Italianate	Extensions	National Heritage List New South Wales State Heritage Register (Former) Register of the National Estate
Hobartville	Richmond			Contribution uncertain
Hyde Park Barracks	Macquarie Street, Sydney	1818–1819		Architect	UNESCO World Heritage List National Heritage List New South Wales State Heritage Register (Former) Register of the National Estate
Judge's House	Sydney			Also attributed to W. Harper
Liverpool Technical College (formerly Liverpool Hospital)	Liverpool
Macquarie Lighthouse (1816–1878)	Watsons Bay	1816–1818		Architect
Obelisk	Macquarie Place	1818		Architect
Old Government House	Parramatta			Timber portico only	UNESCO World Heritage List National Heritage List New South Wales State Heritage Register (Former) Register of the National Estate
St James' Church	Queen's Square Phillip Street, Sydney	1820–1824		Architect	New South Wales State Heritage Register
St Luke's Anglican Church	Liverpool	1818–1820		Architect	New South Wales State Heritage Register
St Matthew's Church	Windsor	1817		Architect
Supreme Court of New South Wales	Cnr King and Elizabeth streets, Sydney	1820–1828	Old Colonial Georgian (Greenway designs) Victorian Italianate (Barnet additions)	Architect (dismissed before completion)	New South Wales State Heritage Register
Sydney Conservatorium of Music	Macquarie Street, Sydney			Architect	New South Wales State Heritage Register
Windsor Court House	Windsor	1821		Architect