Hestock is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

residence located at 14 Crescent Street,

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

in the

Municipality of Hunter's Hill The Municipality of Hunter's Hill is a local government area on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was first proclaimed in 1861, which includes the suburbs of Hunters Hill, Woolwich, Hu ...

local government area in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was designed by

Walter Liberty Vernon Colonel Walter Liberty Vernon (11 August 184617 January 1914) was an English architect who migrated to Australia and pursued his career as an architect in Sydney, New South Wales. In his role as the New South Wales Government Architect he is ...

and built during 1885. It is also known as Le Chalet. It 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

The land Hestock stands on was originally part of the Passy Estate, a landholding of considerable extent stretching from what is now Woolwich Road to Alexandra Bay between Ferry and Crescent Streets. Between 1855 and 1857 Passy, a substantial stone villa, was built for Monsieur Louis Sentis the French Consul at the time. Sentis sold shortly afterward to Edye Manning. Hestock was built in 1885 by Alfred Christian Garrick the owner of Passy. The architect was Walter Liberty Vernon, later the

New South Wales Government Architect The New South Wales Government Architect, an appointed officer of the Government of New South Wales, serves as the General Manager of the Government Architect's Office (GAO), a multi-disciplinary consultancy operating on commercial principles ...

from 1890 to 1911. Vernon also designed the Hunters Hill Post Office. The house was illustrated in the ''Australian Builder's and Contractor's News'' of 18 August 1888. In 1886 John Arthur was the tenant of the house and H. B. Cotton from 1888. The house was named Le Chalet during (at least) the years 1890 to 1924. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that it was known as Le Chalet up until 1968.Personal communications with previous occupant. According to anecdotal evidence, the service wing originally featured a timber verandah (now demolished) which had a laundry with a bricked in copper and, later, a gas copper and cement wash tubs. Adjacent to this was a wood shed and a toilet. Before the subdivision of land on the Western boundary, there were two garages and two workmen's sheds as well as a corrugated iron work water tank. The house itself has the words "Hestock AD 1881" carved into a dressed stone quoin adjacent to the entry porch. As Walter Liberty Vernon sold his architectural practise in Britain and came to Australia in 1883 the date on the house cannot be correct (as Vernon was not in Australia at that time). The house must have been constructed between 1883 (the time of Vernon's arrival in NSW) and 1888 (the years it was illustrated in the Builder's and Contractor's News). As it was occupied in 1886 it does appear that an 1885 construction date appears likely.Kemp and Johnson, 2000 Hestock was nominated for a Permanent Conservation Order in 1979 by the then owner Mr Evans. The Permanent Conservation Order was gazetted on 27 June 1980. It was transferred to the State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

Description

Hestock is a substantial two-storey

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

residence, with

veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

hs on three sides. The sandstone walls are rock-faced

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

and feature smooth dressed

quoins Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...

and smooth dressed stone

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s to the windows. The house is asymmetrical, with a steeply pitched

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

slate roof Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

. Chimneys are sandstone with pairs of unglazed terracotta

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...

pots. The gable ends feature imitation half-timbering. Windows are often in groups of three. The group of three windows

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

the entrance hall to the northeast of the entry

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

feature geometrically patterned leadlights. Also adjacent to the entry porch, carved into one of the dressed quoins are the words "Hestock AD 1881". The main return verandah to the front and the northeast side of the house features a slate roof. The rear service wing is single storey, also with a gabled slate roof and features a gabled roof vent. A stone garden wall joins the rear wall of the service wing and features a dressed top, curved dressed end and features a whimsical arrow-slit cross. Internally the walls are plastered brick and ceilings are high with, in the front section of the house elaborately moulded

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

s and large

ceiling rose In the United Kingdom and Australia, a ceiling rose is a decorative element affixed to the ceiling from which a chandelier or light fitting is often suspended. They are typically round in shape and display a variety of ornamental designs. In mo ...

s. In the rear service wing original plain plaster ceiling without cornices survive. There is an existing modern enlarged opening between the kitchen and the family room which does not extend to ceiling height.

Condition

, the physical condition was excellent. Hestock retains a very high degree of integrity.

Modifications and dates

*1920s - possible alteration of the verandah to the front and northeastern side of the house. *1988 - construction of a two-storey timber cottage to the northwest of the house

Heritage listing

92 - Hestock - PCO Plan Number 092 (5045098p1)

As at 4 January 2013, Hestock is of State heritage significance as one of the few domestic buildings designed by eminent architect Walter Liberty Vernon who went on to become the New South Wales Government Architect from 1890 to 1911. Hestock is a seminal example of the architectural style known as

Federation Arts and Crafts Federation architecture is the architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915. The name refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the Australian colonies collectively became the Commonwealth of Au ...

and has been designed "in the round" i.e. all elevations have received the same degree of attention to design and detail. Hestock retains a very high degree of fabric integrity and intactness. It is of significance as an early house of the Hunter's Hill peninsula with associations with both the estate and owners of "Passy". Hestock was listed on the

on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history. Hestock is associated with "Passy" having been built for its owner Alfred Christian Garrick. Hestock is an important early work of the eminent architect Walter Liberty Vernon. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. Hestock is a seminal example of the architectural style which came to be known as Federation Arts and Crafts. Hestock has a particularly interesting design detail as it has been designed "in the round" i.e. all elevations have received the same degree of attention to design and detail.

References

Bibliography

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Attribution

{{NSW-SHR-CC, name=Hestock, dno=5045098, id=00092, year=2018, accessdate=1 June 2018 New South Wales State Heritage Register Hunters Hill, New South Wales Houses in Sydney Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Walter Liberty Vernon buildings in Sydney 1885 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Sydney Houses completed in 1885 Federation style architecture