John Blaxland, elder brother of the more famous Gregory, received a grant of 6710 acres on 30 November 1813, which he named Luddenham. The property, which was situated between South Creek and the Nepean River, was named after the family property in Kent, England.

The Blaxlands had originally been encouraged to emigrate to NSW by Sir Joseph Banks, who recognised the need for experienced farmers with plenty of capital to invest. The policy developed by Governor Macquarie in his term of office, of granting large land grants to the wealthy was also designed with this in mind. Initially however, under Governor Bligh the grants of land to the Blaxlands had been much smaller, and both John and Gregory had numerous disagreements with the Governor. They were therefore, strong opponents of Bligh at the time of the Rum Rebellion.

The property was chiefly used to graze and breed dairy cattle, though grapes and some other crops were grown. The Blaxlands were the first Australians to export wine. John did not live on the property but employed others to oversee and work this land. Among those employed were German and Swiss families brought out to Australia especially to work in the vineyards. Many descendants of these families still live in the area.

The village of Luddenham, straddling this original property, grew with the provision of a school in 1860, a store and the Thistle Inn. Those who settled in the area were generally horse or cattle breeders, farmers or orchardists. The area remains rural, despite some recent subdivision and residential development.