Durham Hall207 Albion Street - Surry Hills
Previously has been
* The Concordia Club
* Booker T Washington Club
* Royal college of Pathologists of Australiasia
Durham Hall was constructed in 1834 for The Butcher And politician George Hill (1802 - 1883). He was a signiicant figure in early Australian history and He lived there until he died in 1883.
his widow also resided in the house for some years after George Hill's Death. The house remained in the family for another 50 years.
According to the Australian Dictionary Of Biography, George Hill was an Alderman, Magistrate & Sporting Patron. He was born in Parramatta in 1802, the son of a convict. He amassed his fortune through work as a butcher & Innkeeper, accumulating real estate in Surry Hills
It retains its original Colonial Georgian 2-storey form and planning, and with 250 03-205 Albion Street contributes to the historic streetscape of Albion Street. It belongs to an import and rare group of surviving Colonial Georgian style, substantial, 2- storey, middle class houses of symmetrical layout in Surry Hills and other parts of. He aminner Sydney. (Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners, 2003)
Durham Hall demonstrates the first stage of the development of Surry Hills and the subdivision of early land grants in 1814. With Cleveland House, Surry Hills, it is one of few surviving examples of Colonial Georgian residential development of this scale and type in the locality.
Durham Hall has historical significance as the early nineteenth century residence of a colonialborn Sydney gentleman, and demonstrates the social status of Surry Hills at the time. It is historically linked, through its shared original ownership and proximity, to more modest Colonial Georgian dwellings at 203-205 and 197 201 Albion Street, Surry Hills.
According to the Australian Dictionary of Biography, George Hill was an alderman, magistrate and sporting patron. Born in Parramatta, the son of a convict, he amassed his fortune through work as a butcher and innkeeper, accumulating real estate in Surry Hills and the Murrumbidgee district. Hill was elected to the first Sydney Municipal Council in 1842 as part of an Australian-born faction, and by 1850 was Mayor of Sydney. During this period he became a magistrate. He was said to have brought 'dignity and respect' to the office and was praised for reforming abuses in the police courts.
In 1856 Hill was elected to the first NSW Legislative Council, resigning in May 1861. Hill sat on the Committee of the Benevolent Asylum. Hill and his family are closely associated with prominent Sydney families of the period such as the Wentworths and Coopers.
The Concordia Club Ltd. has a strong historical association with Durham Hall in the early twentieth-century through its ownership and use of the building as its club premises from 1923-1939, providing recreational facilities for the Sydney German community at that time.
Durham Hall also has historical association with the American Red Cross and the provision of accommodation and recreational facilities for American servicemen of African descent during World War II, in the years between 194345.
Durham Hall Is of aesthetic significance as a fine, rare representative example of a Colonial Georgian style gentleman's residence. With similarities to Willandra at Ryde and Cleveland House in Surry Hills, Durham Hall demonstrates the symmetry of Colonial Georgian style planning and form. Durham Hall is the principal building in an important Colonial Georgian style group encompassing the cottages at 203-205 Albion Street and terraces at 197-201 Albion Street, all originally built for George Hill, and evidencing the scale and nature of the colonial streetscape of Albion Street. (Heritage Impact Statement, Durham Hall, 207 Albion Street, Surry Hills Section 60 Application prepared by Paul Davies P/L, September 2016)
