Fusilier Cottage

Architects: Unknown (1838), Bence Mulcahy (2018)

Heritage in Conversation

Step inside Fusilier Cottage and discover how a much-loved Battery Point home has evolved while retaining its connection to the past.

Built in the late 1830s for Angus McLeod, a Scottish musician and soldier, the cottage was once both a home and a place of music. McLeod taught from the house and used it as the headquarters of his Quadrille Band, entertaining crowds of Hobartians.

Almost two centuries later, the cottage is still a place where family life and work come together. In 2018, its owners commissioned Tasmanian architects Bence Mulcahy to carefully repair the original bluestone and sandstone cottage and create a contemporary extension incorporating office and retail space, visitor accommodation and a new family living area.

Look closely at how the new building sits within the garden. Smaller in scale than the original cottage, it has been positioned to protect views of the historic building from both Hampden Road and Waterloo Crescent. Timber screens and sliding glass panels allow the family to change the relationship between home, garden and street, opening up or creating privacy as needed.

The materials of the new addition echo its setting, with bluestone, timber, brass and skylights creating a contemporary response to the character of the original cottage.

Come and explore how old and new can live comfortably together and discover how thoughtful design can give a historic home a new chapter without losing the stories that came before.

Open: Sat 7 & Sun 8 Nov, 10am – 4pm