Fernleigh

At the southern end of G J Walters Park in Cleveland stands a private house dating to the early days of Cleveland's settlement. Fernleigh is thought to have been built in the 1860s as a holiday house for William Taylor, JP and magistrate. The small building at the rear of the house had multiple earlier uses. It began life as a shop in Cleveland, before being purchased by the Board of Education in 1868 and used as the first Cleveland School. Taylor bought the building in 1879 and relocated it to the site for use as a kitchen house. William Taylor was a magistrate operating at the Cleveland Courthouse. He died in this house in December 1895 and his daughters continued to live here. The property remained in the family until the 1960s and was later turned into flats. It has been a private home since the late 1980s. The property includes some substantial trees including a fig, Candle Nut trees, a Macadamia, a black bean and some large eucalyptus. Please note that Fernleigh is a private residence and not publically accessible.