Sawyer’s Arms

BOOKINGS OPEN AT 12 PM ON THURSDAY, 8 FEBURARY 2024

Architect/s: Unknown (1844)

The Sawyer’s Arms was commissioned on land granted to former-convict Frances Atkinson. He was the licensee of the pub from 1844 to 1847. However, Atkinson’s inn venture was not a success. In June 1847 the ‘recently erected and commodious Sawyers Arms licensed inn’ was auctioned. The premises which ‘offered every convenience for a respectable and lucrative trade’ were in ‘excellent order’ having only been recently finished’ and were ‘built of the best materials.’ The site offered ‘every necessary convenience for a Country Inn.’ After becoming bankrupt Atkinson sold the two-storeyed brick inn with adjacent stables to become hotelier briefly at the Richmond Hotel in Henry Street. The Sawyer’s Arms continued as an inn until the mid-19th century.

By about 1860, the house was a residence for George Burn (who built Roslyn 1823) when operating the Steam Flour Mill (Mill House) near  the Richmond Bridge. Later in the century, the stables were still used for coach horses – its pit-sawn rafters and manger racks are still in good order today. It is now a private residence, having been renamed Hawthorn Lodge, George Chivers lived there before 1914. Later owners include the Grices, a well-known local family, Dr John and Joan Sherry, Michael and Ann Barrett, and the current owners Sara and Stuart Whatling.

Open: Saturday 24 February, 10 am – 1 pm

Note: This is a general open; however, you must register to attend the property.

Access: There are steps at the house entry and the stables floor is uneven.

Note: The upper floor of the house is not available for visitor access.