Taylor’s Cottage

Taylor’s Cottage, a tiny weatherboard dwelling, is located in Guildford Western Australia. It was once the home of Edward Taylor an ex convict transported to Western Australia for 7 years for the crime of pickpocketing in Birmingham, England.

After completing his sentence in Toodyay, Edward aged 37 married local girl Emma aged 17. They moved to Guildford, living in a small workman’s cottage at 3 Meadow Street. The couple had 13 children – although a glimpse inside the cottage shows they could not possibly have lived here at once.

In 1983 the cottage was dismantled by volunteers and moved to its present location in the Guildford Museum Precinct. Swan Guildford Historical Society conducts tours of the nearby Colonial Gaol and the Cottage.

Visitors are amazed that a large family could have lived there. The bedroom has space for a tiny wardrobe and one small bed. Perhaps the children slept on the floor or out on the verandah during warmer months?

The kitchen has makeshift furniture, made from packing cases, plus an open fireplace which would have been in constant use for cooking and heating water for bathing and washing clothes.

A visit to Taylor’s Cottage is a real experience of how families lived in the nineteenth century.

Be sure to book your tour soon!