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 — acknowledge at publish.

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). Do not invent lost interior schedules.

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).

Image gallery guidance

1. Keep live historic photograph.

2. Pair elevations with Highroyd 262.

3. 1952 row view Kenilworth–Greba (localnotes).

4. Sandstone wall / arched gate / stone stair.

5. Contemporary streetscape (respect private interiors).

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

• Live post: https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2025/06/hockingdon-264-johnston-street.html
• 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 (cross-link as posts exist)

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