Hadspen

Along the fifty kilometre stretch between Launceston and Deloraine there are five towns, Hadspen, Carrick, Hagley, Westbury and Exton. Each town originated a coach stop on the road west, or so we were told. I don’t know if that’s true, but this is the old coaching inn at Hadspen.

The Red Feather inn, built in the 1840s. At the time I took this photo, November 2006, it looks like it has fallen out of use, but according to the website it was refurbished and reopened late in 2008.

I’ve seen a couple of mentions that Hadspen was “established” in 1820, but I haven’t found anything that says where that date comes from. Possibly something associated with Entally, which was built the previous year. Most of the buildings in the town date from the 20th century, except for this stretch of street.

This pretty little sandstone building was the gaol.

There are only two churches in the town that I know of. This, the Uniting Church, formerly Methodist, is a typical small, country church.

The bluestone Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd which I’ve dealt with before. It was started in 1868 but then sat there mostly unfinished for nearly a century.

The cemetery behind the church is overlooked by the modern part of the town.