New neighbours

Droylsden - the beautiful architecture of one of Horsham's heritage homes.

A local retired farmer from Lower Norton -Mr Sidney Rawlinson Smith built Droylsden in Baillie Street, in 1930. The family sold it in 1954 when they moved to Geelong.
It was used by the Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Co-operative between 1987 and 2006.

However, the house has been in a state of disrepair for several years. Vandals have smashed many of the windows, and gained entry on a number of occasions. This led to wire screens & particle board being erected on some of the windows.

The vandalism rose to another level when a fire inside the building was reported a couple of years ago. The Fire brigade had trouble gaining entry due to the screens and locks.

Droylsden was auctioned last Friday. A Horsham landmark property, it was constantly referred to by the auctioneer a as a piece of local history of which the new owner would be the curator.

Located within CBD, with Western highway exposure (read constant truck brake & exhaust noise) as well as ample parking at the rear,(provided you don’t take all the library car spaces).

Main dwelling is on a 1050 square metre title of two allotments, consisting of a double storey brick veneer residence with timber floors, 5 bedrooms, 3 living areas and a kitchen and dining room, 2 toilets and one bathroom.

Second dwelling contains four consulting rooms with kitchenette and bathroom.

Outside there is parking on site, a small garden shed and a large shed with a concrete floor, shower and toilet facilities.
About 40-50 people attended the auction with two main bidders. The auction stalled at $252,000 and negotiations continued between the Federal Government (over the phone to Canberra) and the highest bidder. The reserve price had been $350,000. Over the weekend the people who had put in the $252,000 bid negotiated to buy the property for an undisclosed amount (which was below the reserve).
Fortunately the new owners are not going to demolish the building despite it needing extensive repairs, but they will need lots of man-hours and money.

And where does the name Droylsden come from?
Well there is Droylsden a town within the Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England. It is situated 4 miles (6.6 km) to the east of the the centre of Manchester, and has a population of 23,172.

The origins of the township are obscure. Some believe that it existed back to the 7th century AD. There are various interpretations of the meaning of the name. It could mean Drygel's valley - 'Drygel' being a companion of war -or dry valley or dry spring - 'dryge' being Old English for dry.

Historically a part of Lancashire, it was during the 1830s and 1840s that Droylsden grew as a mill town around the construction of large factories, the establishment of cotton mills, and labour from the surrounding areas, helped to increase the population.
The first terry towel - the first machine woven towel in the world - was produced in Droylsden in a specially adapted loom.
Droylsden has notably been home to a Moravian community since 1780s, and which still exists to this day. It was Moravian missionaries who set up and ran the Ebeneezer Aboriginal Mission at Antwerp.


Towards the end of the 19th century the close-knit community of Droylsden was beginning to decline, feeling that Manchester was drawing life away from the township.

In the early 1930s, Droylsden's population expanded rapidly, as it became a housing overflow area for neighbouring Manchester. Today Droylsden has become fourth in size and population of the '109 Urban Districts in the County of Lancashire'.