This cottage (as do all those in Batemans Road) stands on land originally granted to James Devlin. A farmhouse appears to have existed on the site in Robert Bateman’s time, as parts of the building are rough rubble walls, wooden shingles are under the iron roof, and roof rafters are pieces of tree trunks. There are stone storage areas for milk, butter and cheese in the cellar, suggesting a dairy. A primary application shows that Robert Batman sold one acre to Ono Earnshaw, stonemason of Glebe, for £25 in 1862, but it is not clear which acre that was. The land was owned by the Earnshaws for many years. The present front of the house would have been the side of the cottage, which had a verandah on three sides.