Ascot House
| Ascot House, Toowoomba | |
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Ascot House, front view
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| Location | 15 Newmarket Street, Newtown, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°33′30″S 151°55′45″E / 27.5583°S 151.9293°ECoordinates: 27°33′30″S 151°55′45″E / 27.5583°S 151.9293°E |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1870s - 1890s |
| Architect | James Marks, Harry Marks |
| Official name: Ascot House | |
| Type | state heritage (built, landscape) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600853 |
| Significant period | 1870s, 1890s (fabric) 1870s-1910s; possibly 1940s (historical) |
| Significant components | pathway/walkway, ballroom, trees/plantings, pond/s - garden, service wing, garden/grounds, billiards room, residential accommodation - main house |
 Location of Ascot House, Toowoomba in Queensland
Location of Ascot House, Toowoomba in Queensland
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Ascot House is a heritage-listed villa at 15 Newmarket Street, Newtown, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1870s to 1890s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Ascot House, a single-storey timber residence with an attached two-storeyed timber extension, referred to as a folly, has been called the largest and most extensive of the grand Toowoomba residences. While the exact construction date is unknown, Ascot was possibly built in the 1870s as a private residence for Frederick Hurrell Holberton, a Toowoomba storekeeper and later Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. The architect of Ascot house remains unknown. When built, the house stood on about 32 acres of land near the Toowoomba racecourse. The grounds of Ascot contained a glasshouse, stables, croquet greens, tennis courts and extensive gardens, which included trees and shrubs bought from overseas.
Holberton sold the property to William Beit Jnr in 1894. William Beit Snr died suddenly in July 1872 before the birth of his son. The Register of the Queensland Parliament, 1860-1927 states that Francis Gregory, the owner of Harlaxton House, resigned as Mining Commissioner for Stanthorpe in November 1872 to take over the administration of the estate of his late friend William Beit, and the family moved to Westbrook. Gregory appears in the Post Office Directories as Station Manager, Westbrook, Toowoomba by 1874. By 1876, however, he is not listed as such. The Toowoomba Chronicle, on 30 November 1875, reported a court case between Sarah Beit, as plaintiff and a number of defendants including, Henry Beit (William Beit's brother) and Francis Thomas Gregory (as Trustees) as the defendants.
It is thought that William Beit named the house Ascot, reputedly because of his interest in horse racing. In the 1890s, Beit added a two-storeyed extension with a large billiard room, designed by Harry Marks to the original U-shaped house. The extension was a very elaborate design, suggestive of the superstructure of a ship, and was known as Beit's Folly. Beit was reputed to have had a distinctly artistic temperament which was reflected in the buildings he owned. The folly has become the distinctive architectural characteristic associated with Ascot House.
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