Francis Greenway

{{Peacock|reason=The lead section heavily promotes the subject, however the body is fine.|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox person

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Francis Howard Greenway

| honorific_suffix =

| image = Francis Greenway Portrait.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Francis Howard Greenway, 1814-1837, unknown artist, pencil [http://digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?embedded=true&toolbar=false&dps_pid=FL3266814 ML 482]

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1777|11|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = Mangotsfield, Bristol, England

| death_date = {{Death date|1837|9||df=y}} (aged 59)

| death_place = near Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

| resting_place = Glebe burial ground, East Maitland, New South Wales

| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|32|45|33.2|S|151|34|30.6|E|type:landmark_region:AU-NSW|display=inline,title}}

| monuments = Francis Greenway High School, Beresfield

| nationality = English

| occupation = Architect

| years_active = 1800–1835

| known_for = Early colonial Australian architecture

| notable_works = List of works

| criminal_charge = Forgery

| criminal_penalty = 14 years transportation to Australia

| criminal_status = Discharged

| spouse =

| children = 7

| footnotes =

}}

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.

Life and career

Greenway was born in Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire (near the English city of Bristol), the son of Francis Greenway and Ann Webb.Morton Herman, '[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010434b.htm Greenway, Francis (1777–1837)]', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 470–473. Retrieved 27 December 2008 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; he may have been told it was the only way to save his life. Whilst awaiting deportation to Sydney, Greenway spent time in Newgate Prison, Bristol, where he completed paintings depicting scenes within the prison.{{cite web|title=Inside Newgate Prison|url=http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/macquarie/greenway/newgate.html|work=Discover Collections|publisher=State Library of New South Wales|access-date=14 February 2013|archive-date=9 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009184415/http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/macquarie/greenway/newgate.html|url-status=dead}}

File:Francis Greenway The Mock Trial, 1812.jpg, 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.{{cite book|last=Broadbent|first=James|title=Francis Greenway Architect|year=1997|publisher=Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales|location=Glebe, N.S.W.|author2=Hughes, Joy}} Greenway first met Lachlan Macquarie in July 1814 to whom he had come recommended by Admiral Arthur Phillip.{{cite web|title=Francis Greenway|url=http://www.hht.net.au/discover/highlights/kids_fact_sheets/francis_greenway|publisher=Historic Houses Trust of NSW|access-date=14 February 2013}} 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.{{cite book|last=Dupain|first=Max|title=Francis Greenway : a celebration|year=1980|publisher=Mead & Beckett|location=North Ryde, N.S.W.|isbn=0-7269-2215-3|pages=11–12|author2=J M Freeland}} 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,{{cite book|title=Architects of Australia|editor=Howard Tanner|publisher=MacMillan|location=Sth Melbourne|year=1981|edition=1st|pages=10–18|isbn=0-333-29929-9}} 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. 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),{{Cite web|url=http://music.sydney.edu.au/about/history/|title = Our history}} 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.{{cite web|title=Around the World in 80 Treasures (TV Series) Australia to Cambodia|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1197647/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl|publisher=IMDB|access-date=11 October 2015}} 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.{{cite journal |last1=Sternbeck |first1=Michael |date=2022 |title=For a godly purpose: planning Saint Mary's Chapel in old Sydney-town |url=https://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Sternbeck-REVV-jachs-2023.pdf |journal=Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society |volume=43 |issue= |pages=1–24 |access-date=}}

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. 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".{{cite news|newspaper=The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser|date=20 January 1835|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2197088|title=Advertisement - Francis Howard Greenway|page=3}}

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.maitland.nsw.gov.au/MeetingsAgendas/ViewDocumentFile.aspx?id=1177|title=Francis Greenway Memorial|first=Clare|last=James|publisher=Maitland City Council|date=25 March 2008|access-date=12 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720151905/http://www.maitland.nsw.gov.au/MeetingsAgendas/ViewDocumentFile.aspx?id=1177|archive-date=20 July 2011|url-status=dead}}

Posthumous tributes

File:Australia 10dollar note 1968.jpg

Ironically, despite conviction for the forgery of a financial document, Greenway's face was shown on the first Australian decimal-currency $10 note (1966–93), making him probably the only convicted forger in the world to be honoured on a banknote.

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:The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981

Structure name	Location	Period	Architectural style	Contribution	Heritage status	Image	Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
Cadmans Cottage	{{NSWcity\|The Rocks}}	1815–1816		Supervised construction		100px	{{cite book \|title=Sydney Architecture \|author=Haskell, John \|publisher=University of New South Wales Press \|year=1997 }}{{rp\|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	100px	{{NHLE\|desc=The Clifton Club\|num=1292433\|accessdate=7 February 2024}}
First Government House, Sydney	Bridge Street, Sydney	1810–1820	Italianate	Extensions	{{bulleted list\|National Heritage List\|New South Wales State Heritage Register\|(Former) Register of the National Estate}}	100px	{{cite NSW SHR\|5045710\|First Government House Site\|fn=H00/00364; S96/00465 [S170]\|access-date=7 October 2017}}{{cite AHD\|105761\|First Government House Site\|fn=1/12/036/0479\|access-date=7 October 2017}}
Hobartville	{{NSWcity\|Richmond}}			Contribution uncertain
Hyde Park Barracks	Macquarie Street, Sydney	1818–1819		Architect	{{bulleted list	UNESCO World Heritage List\|National Heritage List\|New South Wales State Heritage Register\|(Former) Register of the National Estate}}	100px	{{cite web\|title=Heritage Council of NSW\|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritage/index.htm\|website=Office of Environment & Heritage\|publisher=NSW Government\|access-date=10 October 2015}}{{cite web\|title=Australian Convict Sites\|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1306\|website=World Heritage Convention\|publisher=United Nations\|access-date=10 October 2015}}{{cite web\|title=Australian Convict Sites\|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/publications/australian-convict-sites-world%20heritage-nomination\|website=Department of the Environment\|publisher=Australian Government\|access-date=10 October 2015}}
Judge's House	Sydney			Also attributed to W. Harper			{{rp\|p.67}}
Liverpool Technical College (formerly Liverpool Hospital)	{{NSWcity\|Liverpool}}					100px
Macquarie Lighthouse (1816–1878)	Watsons Bay	1816–1818		Architect		100px	{{efn\|The Greenway lighthouse was replaced by the James Barnet lighthouse in 1878. The former lighthouse was demolished and the latter lighthouse remains in use. The image shows the two lighthouses, side by side, in the 1880s. The Green lighthouse is on the left.{{cite NSW SHR\|5045203\|Macquarie Lighthouse Site\|hr=00677\|fn=EF10/17892; S90/4214; HC891152\|access-date=2 June 2018}}}}
Obelisk	Macquarie Place	1818		Architect		100px	{{cite NSW SHR\|2424811\|Macquarie Place Including Road and Park Reserve, Obelisk, Canon, Anchor\|access-date=3 January 2017\|date=21 December 2011 }}
Old Government House	Parramatta			Timber portico only	{{bulleted list	UNESCO World Heritage List\|National Heritage List\|New South Wales State Heritage Register\|(Former) Register of the National Estate}}	100px	{{cite NSW SHR\|5045475\|Old Government House\|fn=09/01461; S90/01914\|access-date=27 September 2017}}{{cite NSW SHR\|5051462\|Parramatta Park and Old Government House\|fn=EF14/5136; S09/1461; S90/1429\|access-date=27 September 2017}}{{cite AHD\|105957\|Old Government House and the Government Domain, O'Connell St, Parramatta, NSW, Australia\|date=1 August 2007 \|access-date=27 September 2017}}{{Cite web \| title = UNESCO World Heritage Centre – World Heritage Committee inscribes seven cultural sites on World Heritage List \|work = UNESCO World Heritage Centre website \| publisher = United Nations \| date = 31 July 2010 \| url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/642 \| access-date = 17 September 2010}}
St James' Church	Queen's Square Phillip Street, Sydney	1820–1824		Architect	{{bulleted list\|New South Wales State Heritage Register}}	100px	{{cite NSW SHR\|5054947\|St. James' Anglican Church\|access-date=17 November 2013}}
St Luke's Anglican Church	{{NSWcity\|Liverpool}}	1818–1820		Architect	{{bulleted list\|New South Wales State Heritage Register}}	100px	{{cite NSW SHR\|5045188\|St. Luke's Anglican Church\|access-date=5 December 2016}}
St Matthew's Church	{{NSWcity\|Windsor}}	1817		Architect		100px
Supreme Court of New South Wales	Cnr King and Elizabeth streets, Sydney	1820–1828	{{bulleted list\|Old Colonial Georgian {{small\|(Greenway designs)}}\|Victorian Italianate {{small\|(Barnet additions)}}}}	Architect {{small\|(dismissed before completion)}}	{{bulleted list\|New South Wales State Heritage Register}}	100px	{{cite NSW SHR\|5045639\|Sydney Supreme Court House (Old Court House)\|hr=00800\|fn=S95/00338/1\|access-date=2 June 2018}}
Sydney Conservatorium of Music	Macquarie Street, Sydney			Architect	{{bulleted list\|New South Wales State Heritage Register}}	100px	{{cite NSW SHR\|5060991\|Conservatorium of Music\|access-date=25 February 2017}}{{cite NSW SHR\|2423927\|Conservatorium of Music Including Interior and Grounds\|access-date=7 October 2017}}
Windsor Court House	{{NSWcity\|Windsor}}	1821		Architect

References

= Notes =

= Citations =

= Sources =

{{Dictionary of Australian Biography |First = Francis |Last = Greenway |shortlink = 0-dict-biogG.html#greenway1+accessdate=2008-12-27 }}
[http://www.daao.org.au/main/read/2926 Dictionary of Australian Artists Online]
[http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&hs=AS7&q=francis+greenway+drive+cherrybrook&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Francis+Greenway+Dr,+Cherrybrook+NSW+2126&gl=au&ei=g8LlStDnDdWIkQWkl-2dAQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA Francis Greenway Drive]