Hockingdon – 264 Johnston Street – Annandale – NSW

Hockingdon – 264 Johnston Street – Annandale – NSW

John Young “Witches’ Houses” villa · Built late 1880s · Standing — local heritage (LEP I62)

On the high western side of Johnston Street, master builder John Young stacked Gothic and Romanesque speculative villas above a continuous sandstone wall. Hockingdon and its twin Highroyd carried side spires for his daughters’ income. Lightning took Hockingdon’s spire; verandahs were infilled; a 1970s fire rebuilt stair and roof — yet the elevated silhouette still reads as one of Annandale’s landmark row.

At a glance

• Address: 264 Johnston Street, Annandale NSW 2038
• Pair: Highroyd, 262 Johnston Street
• Built: late 1880s — Heritage NSW assumes 1886–1889; localnotes 1888–1890 (flag)
• Builder: John Young; designer attributed John William Richards and Young (Heritage NSW)
• Early name: Etheldine (Sands 1890, occupied by WD Matthews) → later Hockingdon
• Purpose: speculative income house for Young’s daughters Annie and Nellie (they did not reside there)
• Group: “Witches’ Houses” / Abbey group — Kenilworth 260, Highroyd 262, Hockingdon 264, Greba/Creba 266, Oybin 270, The Abbey 272; Claremont 258 & Rozelle 268 demolished
• Heritage: Leichhardt LEP I62 / Heritage NSW DB 1940064 (local)
• Fate: Standing — private residential; verandahs infilled; spire missing; post-fire repairs

Site & setting

Johnston Street boulevard on the former George Johnston Annandale grant (1799) — North Annandale Estate subdivisions from 1874; Young’s Sydney Freehold company from 1878. Houses sit well above street level behind shared sandstone wall, palisade, arched gate and stone stair (Heritage). Aboriginal Country: Wangal / Inner West corridor.

Timeline

• 1799 – George Johnston Annandale grant (Heritage context).
• 1877–78 – John Young consolidates North Annandale vision / Freehold company.
• Early 1880s – Young reacquires high-side lots south of Weynton Street.
• c.1886–90 – Hockingdon / Highroyd built (flag date window).
• 1890 – Sydney Water plan shows brick house; Sands lists Etheldine.
• 1890s – Spire struck by lightning and demolished (Heritage NSW).
• From 1920s – Multiple lettings; front verandahs progressively enclosed (Heritage).
• Early 1970s – Fire damages stairwell, top floor, roof; rebuilt; tile roof renewals.
• 1980 – Further renovations / window replacements (Heritage).
• Today – Local heritage dwelling in the Witches’ Precinct (Inner West DCP controls).

Architecture & interiors

Three storeys over basement; rendered brick and concrete; steep gables; side tower (metal-capped, spire lost); front double gable and open upper balcony; long southern stair window with leadlight (retain per DCP / Heritage recommendations). Matching form to Highroyd 262. Early reinforced-concrete footings and floors in Young’s Annandale group (H.C. Kent 1924 tradition via Heritage).

People & anecdotes

John Young — “eminent Australian builder,” Mayor of Leichhardt, Annandale promoter, mason, builder of The Abbey. Annie & Nellie Young — intended beneficiaries of the Highroyd/Hockingdon pair. John William Richards — attributed architect (also Annandale Council Chambers). Annandale Association — 1960s–70s advocacy that helped save the group (Heritage social significance).

What stands today

Hockingdon stands at 264 Johnston Street as a private residence within the Inner West / former Leichhardt local heritage listing. Street viewing of the elevated facade and shared stone wall is the public experience; interiors are not a museum.

Sources & further reading

• Heritage NSW — House, “Hockingdon,” including interiors (DB 1940064): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=1940064
• Leichhardt LEP 2013 Schedule 5 — I62
• localnotes — “Annandale – the houses of John Young”: http://localnotes.net.au/?p=206
• Gary Nicholls / Annandale Association — Hockingdon: The Story of a House (1981) cited on Heritage NSW
• Inner West DCP — Witches’ Houses precinct controls
• ramin.com.au — Johnston Street (North) anecdotal photo notes (spire dating soft)

Related on this blog

• Annandale House (Johnston estate predecessor on the ridge)
• Highroyd – 262 Johnston Street (pair)
• The Abbey / Oybin / other Johnston Street witches’ houses