21–23 Lower Fort Street, Millers Point are heritage-listed

terrace house A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

s located at 21–23 Lower Fort Street, in the inner city

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

suburb of

Millers Point Millers Point is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the north-western edge of the Sydney central business district, adjacent to The Rocks and is part of the local government area of the City o ...

in the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...

local government area of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. It was built from 1832. It is also known as Nicholson's Houses. The property was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

Millers Point is one of the earliest areas of European settlement in Australia, and a focus for maritime activities. Millers Point took its name in the early days of the colony from "Jack the Miller", who built his windmills there, while Lieut. Dawes established his observatory on the point. This precinct, positioned between

Barangaroo Barangaroo ( – ) was an Aboriginal Australian woman best known for her interactions with the British colony of New South Wales during the first years of the European colonisation of Australia. A member of the Cammeraygal clan, she was the wi ...

, Observatory Hill and the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...

, contains a variety of architectural styles from early Georgian houses and tiny workmen's cottages, to the grander 19th century Victorian terraces. With much of the area given over to public housing in the 20th century, changes in ownership in the early years of the 21st century are again breathing life into these early buildings, although the need to ensure any renovation is done sensitively remains imperative.

21 Lower Fort Street

Built in 1832 for John Nicholson, first Harbour Master, on a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

he received from

Governor Macquarie Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and had a leading role ...

, this house is in the style of a late Colonial Georgian town home. With the help of architect William Smart, the owners have saved as much as possible of the (original) fabric and existing decorative elements, while making judicious alterations where necessary for modern living.

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

(NSW), 2016. Exterior changes include verandah infill addition, brick addition to the rear of dwelling built after 1930. Also at rear boundary originally stood a two-story stable block. First tenanted by the NSW Department of Housing in 1984.

Description

The property is a five-bedroom, two-story Georgian terrace with basement, facing Lower Fort Street with a slate

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

roof. Exterior joinery, especially front doors is noteworthy. The first floor

veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

h has mid-nineteenth century cast iron

pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

and

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

panels, with later timber infill. This is supported by wooden

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

at the ground floor which stylistically date from an earlier period. The external condition of the property is good.

Modifications and dates

External: Post 1930 brick addition to rear, balcony infilled, stable removed, intrusive plumbing on end walls.

Heritage listing

As at 23 November 2000, this building dates from approximately 1840, although possibly earlier. It is part of the

Millers Point Conservation Area Millers Point Conservation Area is a heritage-listed historic precinct at Millers Point, Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The property is owned by the New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation. It was added to the New Sout ...

, an intact residential and maritime precinct. It contains residential buildings and civic spaces dating from the 1830s and is an important example of 19th century adaptation of the landscape. 21–23 Lower Fort Street, Millers Point was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Bibliography

* * *

Attribution

External links

* * {{Millers Point historical attractions, state=collapsed New South Wales State Heritage Register sites located in Millers Point Georgian Revival architecture in Australia Terraced houses in Sydney 1832 establishments in Australia Houses completed in 1832 Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Millers Point Conservation Area