Eccleston on the Upper Allyn

Eccleston lies on the Upper Allyn, upstream from Allynbrook. The history of the village combines early settlement and community history with schooling, agriculture and later road construction. To the north, in Upper Allyn, the Boot Hill exhibition adds another place to visit.

A village with Welsh roots

The village is said to have originated on the property of Alexander Seymour, which he took over in the 1830s in the predominantly Welsh district of Gresford. The name Eccleston is also regarded as an expression of the heritage of early Welsh settlers. The cautious wording about the village’s origins and the interpretation of its name belong to different parts of the story: one points to a possible connection with a property, the other to a cultural heritage.

Churches and school over time

By 1853, there were enough families in Eccleston to support an Anglican church. By then, a school had also been established on land donated by Hugh Massie. These early milestones tell of church and school life, without reducing the village’s history to a single building.

St. Paul’s Anglican Church was a simple building made of horizontally laid timber planks, with a gabled roof and a porch. The church was rebuilt in 1924. The description of its design highlights the contrast with more elaborate architecture: simple materials and a straightforward structure define its appearance. Eccleston School, meanwhile, closed in 1864, reopened as a public school in 1867 and was expanded with new buildings in 1885. Its closure, reopening and new construction mark different stages in its history.

The Congregational church also shaped Eccleston’s role in the district. The first services there were held in 1885; in the 1880s, Eccleston became the centre of the Congregational Church in the district. By 1903, the village was the centre of a preaching circuit that also included Gresford. Together with the history of the Anglican church, this shows how different developments in church life shaped the village’s history over several decades.

Agriculture and later transport routes

Eccleston was an important area for dairy farming and citrus growing, as well as the centre of a major citrus and dairy farming district. Its products included oranges, cream, milk and timber. The timber was transported to Paterson along the valley roads. Thus, the history of agriculture extends beyond the produce itself to its transport to the surrounding area.

The roads around Eccleston and Salisbury were not built until 1920. In comparison, these roadworks came much later than the school established by 1853 and the early milestones in church life. The village’s history can therefore also be read as a sequence of different developments: community life and education alongside agriculture, transport and later road construction.

Boot Hill in Upper Allyn

North of Eccleston, in Upper Allyn, the Boot Hill exhibition is located by the fence of a farm on Allyn River Road. It comprises around 1,000 shoes and boots; the exhibition may change over time. Boot Hill Drive is on Allyn River Road in Upper Allyn, also north of Eccleston. This makes a visit to the exhibition a separate item to include in your travel plans, in addition to Eccleston’s historical attractions. Check local road conditions before setting out, and bear in mind that the exhibition may change.

When choosing accommodation, you can consider which of these perspectives matters most to you: Eccleston’s development, with its church, school and agricultural history, or the Boot Hill exhibition in Upper Allyn as well. This lets you base your hotel search on a specific interest rather than just a general place name.

Discover more destinations: The Pocket, Rydal, Narellan, Rankins Springs, Aberdeen, Eurunderee, Gumly Gumly, Berridale.

For the main travel overview: New South Wales.