Architecturally, Annandale is
an incredibly interesting suburb from an historical perspective. It is home to
some of the first houses in Sydney and is a canvas for the unexpected. Nestled
quite startlingly amid some of Sydney’s earliest architectural history lies the
Ann & Dale, a striking example of the quintessential linear, large-windowed
retro 70s building.
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Original sandstone facade
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| The Ann & Dale Apartments |
The suburb of Annandale itself has one of the longest
histories of any Sydney suburb.
When Major George Johnston (1764–1823)
arrived on the First Fleet ship Lady Penrhyn,
he was granted 100 acres of land that he named Annandale after his birthplace
Annan in Scotland. His name is remembered in Johnston Street itself.
He sold his property in 1877 to John Young, who was a
businessman, architect and mayor. Young began to turn the Johnston estate into an attractive suburb by
building a number of picturesque houses. One of those houses was Kenilworth,
with its "witch's cap" style of roof common to that period of
architecture. Other houses in the group were
the striking ‘Abbey’, ‘Oybin’, ‘Greba’, ‘Hockingdon’, ‘Highroyd’ and ‘Rozelle’ which was demolished and is
in fact the site of The Ann and Dale. Some of these houses are still popularly
known as "witches houses" because their towers. Of the various houses in this group, The Ann & Dale’s closest
neighbour, The Abbey, has been described as a stone Gothic Revival mansion,
modelled on Scottish manors.
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Johnston Street,
Annandale, circa 1880s showing The Abbey
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| The Witches Hat Home today |
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| The Witches Hat Home circa 1880 |
Annandale has many more heritage
listed buildings but the Witches Houses are the most famous. Come and see them
for yourself from The Ann & Dale Real Thing Apartments...
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| www.therealthingapartments.com.au |
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