Royal Cricketers Arms Hotel
The Cricketers Arms Hotel is located on the corner of Flushcombe Road and Cricketers Arms Road, Prospect, N.S.W. It is a brick rendered, two-storey building with accommodation in the roof space.
Originally, the hotel was named the Royal Cricketers Arms Hotel and was built between 1876 and 1881. James Manning was issued with the first Publican's Licence in 1881, showing that the hotel may have operated without a licence for a short time.
Manning is thought to have operated a cricket pitch and racetrack on the property. The hotel was a popular place during the 1880's, with many of the workers employed for the construction of the nearby Prospect Reservoir using its services.
Manning subdivided and sold much of the land around the hotel in 1884. He then fell into serious debt around the time of the 1889-90 recession. Due to his financial difficulties, Manning lost ownership of the hotel.
Sarah Roche held the licence for the Royal Cricketers Arms Hotel from 1895 to 1901. The licence was held by a variety of people until 1911, when the licence appears to have lapsed.
In 1913, the hotel on 3 acres (2,000 m2) of land was sold to Edward Cooney. His daughters operated a tearoom and local store in the hotel for travelers on the Western Road. The hotel was extended at this time to include a rear verandah, rear timber laundry building and a farm shed.
From 1937 until 1942, the property was resold many times before being used for farming by Ivan Posa until 1963. The Posa family probably used the hotel as their residence during this period.
In 1963, the property was sold again and used as a Drive-In Theatre and the hotel was used as a caretaker's residence. In 1989, the Department of Planning placed a Permanent Conservation Order on the property. The hotel was abandoned and suffered much vandalism until 1992 when restoration work began on the building. James Kellie proposed to reopen it in the style of an 'Old English Pub' in 1993, so the Cricketers Arms Hotel currently operates as a hotel once again.
Sources and more information:
Cricketer's Arms Hotel, Prospect: Conservation plan. (1991). Partridge and Davies Architects: Pymble, NSW.
Blacktown City Council Library Service - Local History Section. Vertical File: Historic Buildings and Sites - Cricketer's Arms.
Internet Site:
http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au