Bellevue – 55–57 Leichhardt Street – Glebe Point – NSW

Bellevue – 55–57 Leichhardt Street – Glebe Point – NSW

Victorian Italianate villa on Jarrett’s Point · Ambrose Thornley Junior 1896 · Saved 1970s · Standing — City of Sydney / Blackwattle Bay Park · NSW SHR #00470

Bellevue is the little Italianate villa that clung to Blackwattle Bay when Venetia fell and the timber yards came. Glebe activists stopped illegal demolition in the mid-1970s; Council and then the City of Sydney restored it for the foreshore park. It is not Bellevue Hill, and it is not the vanished Venetia behind it.

At a glance

• Address: 55–57 Leichhardt Street, Glebe / Glebe Point NSW 2037
• Other names on SHR: site of former Venetia (demolished); 55 Leichhardt Street
• Traditional Custodians: Wangal / Cadigal of the Eora Nation (SHR / Barani framing)
• Built: c.1896 for William Jarrett; architect Ambrose Thornley Junior (SHR). Soft: DoS / some local walks 1883
• Style: restrained late Victorian Italianate; stuccoed brick; bullnose verandah; plaster eaves brackets (SHR)
• Point name: Jarrett’s Point between Blackwattle Bay and Rozelle Bay
• Adjoining story: larger Venetia (c.1875) demolished c.1914–15 after Windeyer purchase; high archaeological potential (SHR)
• Heritage: NSW SHR #00470 (2 Apr 1999); PCO 25 Jul 1986; National Trust; City of Sydney LEP
• Fate: Standing — City of Sydney ownership; Blackwattle Bay Park setting; café / community chapters (verify operator)

Site & setting

Foreshore headland once lined with marine villas, then Vanderfield & Reid timber yards, then landfill park. Bellevue is a landmark in Blackwattle Bay Park — highly visible from bay and foreshore walk (SHR aesthetic criteria). Venetia’s footprint lies under later fill beside/behind; treat as archaeology, not standing fabric.

Timeline

• 1789+ — Johnson Glebe grant; 1828 Church subdivisions; Spark then Chisholm chapters (SHR).
• 1873 – William Jarrett buys lots on the point; c.1875 builds Venetia (SHR).
• 1876 – Jarrett acquires Bellevue’s lot 47 from Ambrose Thornley Senior (SHR).
• 1896 – Bellevue built to Ambrose Thornley Junior’s design — reputed for a Jarrett daughter; early tenants Ewin Cecilia then J.G. Warden (SHR / Glebe Society).
• 1901 – Jarrett dies; Jul 1913 – Bellevue & Venetia sold to William Archibold Windeyer.
• c.1914–15 – Venetia demolished (SHR).
• From c.1925 – Bellevue ceases house use; timber milling across the point (SHR).
• 1970s – Parkes Developments threat; community / Glebe Society stop demolition; park deal; fill dumped; Section 130 Order 16 May 1980 (SHR).
• End 1981 – Leichhardt Council purchases foreshore including Bellevue; Blackwattle Bay Park opens Aug 1983.
• 1986 – PCO; re-roofing grant; 1999 – SHR.
• 2003 – Transfers to City of Sydney; 2005–07 CMP / restoration; 3 Mar 2007 open day (SHR).
• 2011+ – Café chapters intermittent (SHR / press) — verify at publish.
• Today – Restored villa in public park; social significance of the 1970s save remains central (SHR).

Architecture & interiors

Part two-storey stucco Italianate cottage with bullnose verandah and plaster eaves brackets (SHR). Inventory notes comprehensive earlier loss of joinery/ornament during dereliction, then City restoration (tessellated tiling, slate roof, plaster cornices cited on Glebe Walks). Prefer CMP / post-2007 fabric notes over inventing 1896 interiors.

People & anecdotes

William Jarrett — publican, building-society manager, Glebe alderman, developer of the point (SHR / Glebe Society). Ambrose Thornley Junior — local architect (Glebe Town Hall among works); bankrupt in 1890s depression (SHR). Windeyer — solicitor purchaser 1913. Glebe Society / local activists — 1970s save. Soft cultural note: Australian Crawl “Beautiful People” video filmed at dilapidated Bellevue 1979 (Wikipedia — secondary).

Image gallery guidance

1. 1899 Hall photograph — Bellevue with Venetia behind (SLNSW / live Venetia post gold).

2. Dilapidated 1970s state vs 2007 restoration open day.

3. Blackwattle Bay Park / foreshore walk context.

4. Bay elevation landmark shots.

5. Caption Venetia carefully as demolished.

What stands today

Bellevue stands in Blackwattle Bay Park under City of Sydney custodianship and State Heritage listing. Exterior and park setting are the public experience; café tenancy status changes — check before advertising hours. Pair with the Venetia–Bellevue sister scrapbook for the demolished twin.

Sources & further reading

• NSW SHR — Bellevue (#00470, DB 5045302): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5045302
• Dictionary of Sydney — Bellevue: https://dictionaryofsydney.org/building/bellevue
• Glebe Society — William Jarrett; Bellevue / Venetia notes
• Glebe Walks — Bellevue (c.1883 page — prefer SHR 1896 in body)
• City of Sydney — foreshore / Bellevue interpretation materials cited on SHR
• Wikipedia — Bellevue, Glebe (portal)
• Trove — search: Bellevue Glebe; Venetia Glebe; Jarrett’s Point; Blackwattle Bay Park Bellevue

Related on this blog

• Venetia (demolished) & Bellevue sister scrapbook — keep names straight
• Toxteth Park, Glebe
• Lyndhurst, Glebe — Verge marine villa (cross-link Lyndhurst draft)
• Bidura, Glebe — Glebe Point Road villa (cross-link Bidura draft)
• Tranby / Reussdale — this batch Glebe cluster

Add historic photos with captions and credits (SLNSW / Trove / author) from Image gallery guidance.