Glen Lyon, Ashgrove

Glen Lyon is a two-story brick residence featuring wide verandahs with cast-iron balustrading and Corinthian pillars, topped with a central stained glass window inscribed 'Semper fidelis'. The house sits on Glenlyon Drive and retains original bunya pines lining the entrance drive along with multiple marble fireplaces inside.

Built between 1876 and 1877 for merchant Alexander Stewart, this house formed the heart of a large estate stretching along both sides of Enoggera Creek. After decades as a private residence, it later became a monastery serving the Marist Fathers.

The chapel was created from a former billiards room, showing how the house served the Marist Fathers who lived here between 1927 and 2003. You can still see how the spaces were adapted for religious life.

The property is accessed via Glenlyon Drive and retains historical landscape features like the original bunya pines that give a sense of the original grounds. Visitors will notice that the interior spaces, with their marble fireplaces and chapel, show how the house was used differently across its history.

The house was constructed using bricks made by South Sea Islander workers from clay found directly on the property grounds. This local brick-making process made the building itself a record of the laborers who shaped it.