Hereford House – 53 Hereford Street – Glebe – NSW

Hereford House – 53 Hereford Street – Glebe – NSW

Victorian Filigree villa · Built 1874 for William Bull · Standing — private; SHR #00460

On Hereford Street’s Victorian streetscape, wheelwright William Bull raised a two-storey stucco Filigree villa that still holds its slate hip, cast-iron verandahs, and Venetian ground-floor windows. It is the second Glebe house to carry the Hereford name — the 1829 original, demolished in the 1930s, stood where Foley Park is now. Mayor Stephen McCormack later kept house here; Lew Hoad is said to have learned tennis on the rear courts. State heritage listing (SHR #00460) protects the house, and the live stub can finally carry a sourced body.

At a glance

• Address: 53 Hereford Street, Glebe NSW 2037
• Built: 1874 for William Bull (wheelwright; Glebe Rowing Club founder tradition — Glebe Society / SHR)
• Style: Victorian Filigree — symmetrical stucco, slate hipped roof, cast-iron columns and valances over both levels, French doors to upper verandah (Glebe Society)
• Heritage: NSW SHR #00460 (listed 2 Apr 1999; DB 5045299); Sydney LEP (incl. interior, front fence, front garden); National Trust classified
• Later owners (Glebe Society chain): Alice & William Goldsmith (1909); Alexander Levi (1924); Louise & Phillip Leonard (1928); Stephen McCormack, Mayor of Glebe (1951); NSW College of Nursing; private from early 2000s tradition
• Fate: Standing — private residence; rear medium-density where draught-horse stables once stood
• Disambiguation: ≠ first Hereford House (1829–1930s), Foley Park site

 

 Hereford House - Glebe 

Site & setting

Hereford Street, Glebe — mid-Victorian residential street on the old Church glebe subdivisions (Parish of Petersham). Aboriginal Country: Gadigal of the Eora Nation. Front garden and fence are part of the LEP listing; rear yard now carries late-20th-century housing on the former stables footprint. Tennis courts once behind the house are gone with that redevelopment (Glebe Society).

Timeline

• 1829 / 1930s – First Hereford House built / demolished — Foley Park site (Glebe Society) — different building.
• 1874 – Present Hereford House built for William Bull.
• 1900–1901 – William dies; widow Catherine dies the following year.
• 1909 – Sold to Alice Goldsmith and butcher husband William.
• 1924 / 1928 – Alexander Levi; then Louise & Phillip Leonard.
• 1951 – Stephen McCormack (Mayor of Glebe; master carrier) purchases; family to 1981 era.
• College of Nursing chapter – Institutional ownership; 1981 Bull-family archives gifted to Glebe Society.
• 2 Apr 1999 – SHR listing #00460.
• Today – Private residence.

Architecture & interiors

Two-storey symmetrical Filigree villa: stucco walls, slate hip, Venetian windows at ground floor, cast-iron verandah and French doors above, iron columns and valances reading through both levels (Glebe Society description aligning with SHR aesthetic criteria). LEP protection of interior, front fence and garden means fabric changes need heritage consent — describe publicly documented exterior character rather than inventing room schedules.

People & anecdotes

William Bull — wheelwright; local association with Glebe Rowing Club; family note (Glebe Society comments) corrects an older “First Fleet marine” father claim toward NSW Corps / Minerva 1800 arrival — keep that soft. Stephen McCormack — Mayor of Glebe; family memories of stables yard and tennis courts. Lew Hoad — popular claim he learned tennis on the rear courts (Glebe Society — mark as claim). Do not merge with the Foley Park Hereford House.

Image gallery guidance

• Street elevation showing Filigree verandahs and Venetian windows.
• Front fence / garden (listed fabric).
• Historic Bull / McCormack family photos if Glebe Society or descendants clear reuse.
• Foley Park marker only with caption “site of first Hereford House.”
• Avoid labelling rear units as “stables.”

What stands today

Hereford House stands as a private SHR-listed house at 53 Hereford Street. No public museum access. Pair with Glebe Society’s Late Victorian streetscapes walk.

Sources & further reading

• Heritage NSW — Hereford House (DB 5045299 / SHR 00460): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5045299
• Glebe Society — Hereford House: https://www.glebesociety.org.au/buildings/hereford-house/
• Live stub: https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2026/09/hereford-house-glebe.html
• Wikipedia — Hereford House (SHR-derived portal — verify against Heritage NSW)

Related on this blog

• Glebe villas: Bidura; Lyndhurst; Reussdale; Bellevue Glebe Point
• Other Victorian Filigree streetscape houses — search labels

Add historic photos with captions and credits from Image gallery guidance.