'Fernleigh Castle' is built on land that was part of the Tivoli estate. Frank Bennett bought the land and cottage in 1881, and proceeded to remodel the house into its present form, probably during the period 1885-1892. The house has been in various hands, and has had diverse occupants and visitors such as Dame Nellie Melba, Lord Olivier, Edith Sitwell. During the late 1950s it was a private hotel. The CBC Bank owned it form 1966 to 1982 and used it a training centre.
A large and intact Victorian mansion built as a product of the 1890s boom. The structure is a highly decorated example of the stonemason's craft using a pink to brown fine dressed sandstone, still in very good condition. Built 1892 incorporating the walls of The Ferns, a small cottage built in 1847 by C W Roberts. Extensively enlarged in 1892 by Frank Bennett, the proprietor of the now defunct Evening News.
A large (30 rooms) two storeyed sandstone mansion built 1892 incorporating the walls of 'the Ferns', a nearby cottage built in 1874.The style is a Victorian interpretation of the neo-Romanesque genre which has been embellished with pseudo Norman battlements and castellated towers. Verandah adjacent to ballroom not original. Built in pink to Brown fine dressed sandstone. Much original Cedar joinery remains.