Bedervale is a heritage-listed colonial homestead in Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia. The house was designed by John Verge and was completed in 1842.
Bedervale is owned privately and the homestead's contents were purchased by the National Trust of Australia (NSW) to maintain the interior collection. The garden is also historically significant as it contains many plantings dating from the 19th century and the orchard contains older varieties of fruit trees. There is also a cemetery on the estate which has historical importance. The homestead was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
History
John and Jane Coghill
John Coghill was born in 1785 at Wick in Scotland. In 1814 he married Jane Grean who was born in Lisbon in 1797. She was the daughter of Francis and Jane Grean. At the time of their marriage he was 29 and she was only 17. In 1820 he became Captain of the convict ship "Mangles" of which he was part owner. He made four voyages between New South Wales and England over the next six years. In 1826 he sold his ship and decided to settle on the land.
By now he was the father of four children. David Francis was born in 1816, Jane Charlotte in 1819, Elizabeth (who inherited Bedervale) in 1822 and Mary Ann in 1825. Emma, his youngest daughter, was born a year after he retired from the sea in 1827.
He had already obtained land near Berrima and in 1826 after he sold his ship he became part owner of Kirkham near Camden and resided there as manager for about ten years. During this time he purchased near Braidwood and ran sheep and cattle there but it was not until about the mid-thirties that he commissioned John Verge to build Bedervale on his property. The house was completed by 1842. During the time it was being built he purchased Strathalan near Braidwood where the family lived from 1837 before going to Bedervale. In 1843 he also bought Braidwood Farm later called Mona.
The eldest daughter Jane Charlotte had already married Donald Campbell Simson in 1839 and was living in Victoria before the family moved to their new house. Unfortunately shortly after they moved to Bedervale their third daughter Mary Ann died in 1844. The death notice stated that she died after a long and painful illness. The year after her death the family decided to go to England and Europe. David, their only son was left in charge of the property and the couple went abroad with their two daughters Elizabeth and Emma.
It was during this trip that Elizabeth met Robert Maddrell who was at that time studying Medicine at the Heidelberg University. The couple married in 1848 in Kensington, London. Unfortunately while they were abroad their son David died at Braidwood. While checking stock he became ill in late July 1847 and in early August he died. Both the Coghill and Maddrell families returned to Bedervale. Elizabeth and Robert Maddrell lived at a nearby cottage at Braidwood Farm for several years and assisted the Coghills with the management of the farm. In 1853 John Coghill died at the age of 68 and the Maddrells inherited Bedervale.
Robert and Elizabeth Maddrell
Robert Maddrell was born in 1819 in Ballamaddrell on the Isle of Man. His family had been landowners there for generations. He became a medical student at Heidelberg University and a student of chemistry. In 1848 he had a paper published in a journal of the Chemical Society of London. When he arrived in Sydney with Elizabeth he was uncertain about his future as he did not know if John Coghill intended to include him in the management of Bedervale. At first he was considering taking a post he had been offered as a Professor of Chemistry at the recently established University of Sydney. However Coghill did welcome him as an assistant and his future was as a grazier at Braidwood instead of an academic in Sydney.