Thread: George Hudson's Ready-Cut Homes

CalBung,

What part of Sydney. My grandfather was a builder around that time (he's long since passed away). My father also worked in the building game with him. I'll be talking with him sometime this week and i'll ask him if he knows anything about it.

My grandfather worked in the Lakemba to Aurburn to Liverpool area.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your reply.

We are in the Ku-ring-gai area and it is unusual to see a George Hudson "Ready Cut" in our area, although there are a few house that look like Hudsons in the Thornleigh/ Normanhurst/ Hornsby area.

I Know the Auburn/Lakemba/Liverpool areas quite well and believe that there would be many George Hudson "Ready Cut" homes in those areas, particularly in Auburn and Lidcome.

I would be very interested to know what your father says if he worked with "Ready Cut" homes.

The interesting thing about them (so we've been told) is that many people purchased them in modules from stores like Grace Brothers on their store accounts.... When they paid off their account balance they would then purchase the next stage of the house..... They were built by handymen but I would guess that some people would have recruited builders to construct the houses for them.

Our house appears to have been built then had two extensions over the years. We are now extending it for a third time!

wonder if hudsons timber yards which are still around ,are the same hudsons?..bob

try this link http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/herit...ct99/6_art.htm

refabricated houses

George Hudson & Son Ltd Cottage Homes Redfern, 1915

This catalogue comprises over 60 different designs for ready-made weatherboard cottages. It also includes a number of photographs of newly erected houses to these designs in various suburbs of Sydney including Maroubra, Penshurst, Lakemba, Randwick, Baulkham Hills, Campsie and Coogee. One of Hudson's ready-made huts, possibly illustrated in this catalogue, was erected as living quarters for the men on Douglas Mawson's Australian Antarctic Expedition (1911-14).



The Hudson family's long association with the building industry began when William Henry Hudson emigrated to Sydney with his carpenter's tools in 1846. A joinery business was established in Redfern Sydney around 1855 and by the 1870s a flourishing engineering enterprise had commenced that would soon move to Clyde in Sydney. William Henry’s son George took control of the joinery business, which became known as George Hudson & Son Ltd in 1905.
George Hudson & Son produced doors, parquetry floors and a huge variety of joinery, as well as ready-made homes, known as "Ready-Cut" by the 1920s. By this date, the company's main works had moved to the Sydney suburb of Glebe. The Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection holds 30 George Hudson & Son trade catalogues dating from 1910 to the mid-1960s.
To search for other trade catalogues in the collection, go to our LIBRARY CATALOGUE.




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Originally Posted by CalBung

Hi,

I'm hoping someone may be able to help me.

I am trying to research the history of my house (c1918)and have been told it is a George Hudson Ready Cut Kit Home.

I'm trying to locate a full range of this builders kit home designs back from the 1920's or earlier.

I have visited the library in the Historic Houses Trust, but have not been successful in finding a complete set of all the designs they produced, other than a few trade catalogues with a couple of designs that looked very similar to my own home. I also know plans were able to be changed by customers- removing doors, adding foyers etc...so I am aware that I may never find the original plan.

I have tried contacting the company only to get a wrong number and also have been told it may have liquidated about 5 years ago.

I was hoping if I got intouch with them they may have archived box of old plans..
I am hoping someone could give me some ideas on the company or perhaps has a collection of some old catalogues in their builders bag????

Thanks in advance...

Hi Calbug(hope i got it right)
I have done up an old home,one of the local said it looks like a Hudson home.
I'm in the lower hawkesbury are where apparently Hudson sold alot of homes/schools etc,the thing is on my old maps it shows the Hudson home i renovated in the 1870's and reading old material Hudson didnt start building homes till the early 1900's and also the alot of the timbers used in this house seem to be local timbers as well like bluegum iron bark etc,the floor boards in this house look superb.
If this interests you please get in touch,im interested in finding old transactions plans from Hudsons archives somewhere.
Thankyou.
Regards.
Brad

hi I have full colour pamphlet on George Hudson ready kit homes not sure what era,their are 4 homes with specification,the names of the homes are as follows - GRAFTON ,ROSEVILLE ,BELLEVUE this is the one my inlaws built ,AVALON.i can send you the pamphlet if you wish.thanks deb