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With thanks to Woodend & District Heritage Society. The society meets on Wednesdays, 10am-4pm, at the old courthouse in Forest St, Woodend.
Islay House is a familiar sight on the main road through Woodend. But how did it get its name? And what’s the correct way to pronounce it?
The grand double-storey building stands just over the bridge on the northern side of Five Mile Creek. It was a hotel for six of its early years, operating finally as Patterson’s Hotel from 1876 to 1877.
Across the road at this time was a general store run by John Gilchrist.
Gilchrist and his wife Christina had a large family (eight of their 10 children survived to adulthood) and it’s believed they were living in a small house next to Patterson’s Hotel.
To solve their need for more space, the Gilchrists bought the hotel from Thomas Patterson in 1878 and moved in.
They called their new home Islay (pronounced “eye-luh”) after the Scottish island where John Gilchrist was born.
✍️ Richard Padgett
📷 Tiffany Warner
📘 Time Gentlemen, Please!, by Jannyse Williams, tells the stories of more than 50 hotels from Woodend and the surrounding area. Buy the book here.
How Islay House looks now
Interior pictures: Tiffany Warner
Stay at Islay House
🛌 Five bedrooms at Islay House are now available as guest accommodation. Click here to see the listing for the Red Room.
How it looked then
Picture: Woodend & District Heritage Society
Never miss a thing in the Macedon Ranges
Your Macedon Ranges is a free weekly email that keeps you informed about activities and events in the Macedon Ranges. Published every Sunday.
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