Francis Greenway

Francis Greenway (1777–1837) was an English-Australian convict and colonial architect. After being convicted of forgery in England and subsequently transported to New South Wales, Australia (then New Holland) at age 37, Greenway was appointed the colony official architect by Governor Lachlan Macquarie despite his convict status. Over the next two decades, Greenway designed the General Hospital (commonly known as the Rum Hospital), St James' Church, and the Macquarie Lighthouse. His work reflected a blend of neoclassical design principle and practicality as the colony grew, symbolising both the struggles and aspirations of the early colonial period.

Francis Howard Greenway
Francis Howard Greenway, 1814-1837, unknown artist, pencil ML 482
Born	(1777-11-20)20 November 1777 Mangotsfield, Bristol, England
Died	(1837-09-00)September 1837 (aged 59) near Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Glebe burial ground, East Maitland, New South Wales[1] 32°45′33.2″S 151°34′30.6″E
Monuments	Francis Greenway High School, Beresfield
Nationality	English
Occupation	Architect
Years active	1800–1835
Known for	Early colonial Australian architecture
Notable work	List of works
Criminal charge	Forgery
Criminal penalty	14 years transportation to Australia
Criminal status	Discharged
Children	7

Life and career

Greenway was born in Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire (near the English city of Bristol), the son of Francis Greenway and Ann Webb.^[2] Greenway became an architect "of some eminence" in Bristol and Bath. His only remaining building in the United Kingdom is the Clifton Club in Bristol, originally the Clifton Hotel and Assembly Rooms. In 1809 he became bankrupt and in 1812 he pleaded guilty "under the advice of his friends", to forging a financial document, and was sentenced to death; this sentence was later commuted to 14 years' transportation. Why he pleaded guilty is unknown. Whilst awaiting deportation to Sydney, Greenway spent time in Newgate Prison, Bristol, where he completed paintings depicting scenes within the prison.^[3]

Painting by Greenway of a mock trial in Newgate Prison, Bristol, 1812, held at the State Library of New South Wales

Greenway arrived in Sydney, New South Wales on the transport General Hewitt in February 1814 to serve his sentence. On board the ship was the surgeon Dr John Harris who was to give Greenway his first private commission in the colony which involved extending his residence on his Ultimo estate.^[4] Greenway first met Lachlan Macquarie in July 1814 to whom he had come recommended by Admiral Arthur Phillip.^[5] During the initial meeting, Macquarie sought to test Greenway by asking him to copy a design of a town hall and courthouse from a pattern book.^[6] Greenway was so offended by this that he responded with a letter declaring his skills and quoting Sir William Chambers that Macquarie should utilise the opportunity for a classical design,^[7] saying he would "immediately copy the drawing Your Excellency requested me to do, notwithstanding it is rather painful to my mind as a professional man to copy a building that has no claim to classical proportion and character."

Between 1816 and 1818, while still a convict, Greenway was responsible for the design and construction of the Macquarie Lighthouse on the South Head 2km from the entrance to Port Jackson.^[2] After the success of this project, he was emancipated by the governor Lachlan Macquarie, before breakfast on 16 December 1817 at the Lighthouse. In the role of Acting Civil Architect and Assistant Engineer responsible to Captain J. M. Gill, Inspector of Public Works, went on to build many significant buildings in the new colony.

Greenway’s works include Hyde Park Barracks, extensions to First Government House, the stables for a projected new Government House (condemned for their ‘useless magnificence’ by a visiting British official, the building is now home to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music),^[8] and St James' Church, Sydney, which was chosen as one of Australia’s only two man-made ‘treasures’ by Dan Cruickshank in the BBC series Around the World in 80 Treasures.^[9] He submitted designs for the first Catholic church in Sydney, St Mary's but they did not match the ambitious scale envisaged by the priest Fr Therry, and were not proceeded with.^[10]

Greenway fell into disrepute when Macquarie accused him of charging high fees whilst on a government retainer, and he was dismissed by the next governor, Thomas Brisbane, in 1822.^[2] He continued to follow his profession with little success.

In 1835 he was destitute, advertising in the Sydney Gazette that "Francis Howard Greenway, arising from circumstances of a singular nature is induced again to solicit the patronage of his friends and the public".^[11]

Greenway died of typhoid near Newcastle, New South Wales in 1837, aged 59. The exact date of his death is not known. He is believed to have been buried in the Glebe burial ground at East Maitland on 25 September 1837, but his grave is unmarked.^[1]

Posthumous tributes

Francis Greenway on the first Australian 10-dollar note, perhaps the only convicted forger in the world depicted on a banknote.

Greenway's face was shown on the first Australian decimal-currency $10 note (1966–93).

Greenway is the eponym of a NSW Federal electorate, a suburb of Canberra, and a high school in Woodberry, a suburb of Maitland.

Francis Greenway Drive in the suburb of Cherrybrook is named in honour of Francis Greenway.

The Vaucluse home of the renowned Australian architect Leslie Wilkinson (1882–1973) was named ’Greenway’ in honour of Francis Greenway.

A Correctional Centre complex near Windsor, NSW is called the Francis Greenway Complex.

Selected list of works

The following works were either designed by Greenway, or where he had significant influence:^[12]

Structure name	Location	Period	Architectural style	Contribution	Heritage status	Image	Notes
Cadmans Cottage	The Rocks	1815–1816		Supervised construction			[13]: p.16
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		[14]
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		[15][16]
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		[17][18][19]
Judge's House	Sydney			Also attributed to W. Harper			[13]: p.67
Liverpool Technical College (formerly Liverpool Hospital)	Liverpool
Macquarie Lighthouse (1816–1878)	Watsons Bay	1816–1818		Architect			[a][20]
Obelisk	Macquarie Place	1818		Architect			[21]
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		[22][23][24][25]
St James' Church	Queen's Square Phillip Street, Sydney	1820–1824		Architect	New South Wales State Heritage Register		[26]
St Luke's Anglican Church	Liverpool	1818–1820		Architect	New South Wales State Heritage Register		[27]
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		[28]
Sydney Conservatorium of Music	Macquarie Street, Sydney			Architect	New South Wales State Heritage Register		[29][30]
Windsor Court House	Windsor	1821		Architect

See also

• List of convicts transported to Australia
• History of Sydney