St. Joseph's Guesthouse

WHAT

Gothic

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WHERE

Lower McDonald

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WHEN

1839

St Joseph’s Guesthouse was beautifully renovated from the ruins of a 160 year old Catholic church by Steve Kavanagh. He painstakingly brought the building, which is the oldest Catholic church on the mainland, back from ruin to be the winner of the 2012 award for National Trust Best Restored Heritage Building in NSW.

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The church was constructed on land donated by John Watson at a cost of £300, and the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Bede Polding in 1839. It is built of locally quarried sandstone and features walls that are two feet thick as well as triple lancet windows on its eastern side. The stone mason named in early records was Patrick Leary and the architect was possibly Henry Edmund Goodridge.

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Open:
The Guesthouse is open for accommodation bookings.  

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For more information, go to St Joseph's Guesthouse website.

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