Kenilworth, Potts Point facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kenilworth |
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The north eastern facade of Kenilworth
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| General information | |
| Type | House |
| Architectural style | Victorian Rustic Gothic Revival |
| Location | Roslyn Street, Potts Point, New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°52′30″S 151°13′33″E / 33.87492°S 151.22586°E |
| Completed | 1869 |
| Client | Henry Williams |
| Owner | St Luke's Care (since 1944) |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Sydney sandstone |
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Invalid designation
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| Official name | St Luke's Hospital Group including buildings and their interiors, sandstone gates, pillars and grounds |
| Type | Built |
| Criteria | a., b., c., d., g. |
| Designated | 14 December 2012 |
| Reference no. | Local register |
| Group/collection | Health Services |
| Category | Hospital |
Kenilworth is a beautiful old house in the Sydney suburb of Potts Point, New South Wales, Australia. It was finished in 1869. The house is built from sandstone and has a special style called Victorian Rustic Gothic Revival. This style looks a bit like old castles or churches. Today, Kenilworth is part of St Luke's Care, which is a health and aged care service.
A Look Back: Kenilworth's Story
Kenilworth was built on land that was once part of a much larger area. This land was given to two men, Thomas Barker and Alexander Macleay, in 1831. Both men built big houses on their land. Macleay's house, Elizabeth Bay House, is still standing today.
Thomas Barker's house, called Roslyn Hall, was designed by Ambrose Hallen. Sadly, it was taken down in 1937. In 1860, the Roslyn Hall estate was divided into seven smaller pieces of land. This is when Roslyn Street was created.
Around 1869, Kenilworth was built for a man named Henry Williams. Records from 1882 describe it as a stone house with two floors and twelve rooms. It had a shingle roof back then.
Building Features
The house is made of sandstone and has two floors. It is built in the Victorian Gothic style. The roof is very steep and made of slate, with stone gables (the triangular parts of the wall at the end of a pitched roof). The windows are made of timber and have two parts that slide up and down. The top part of each window has a pointed shape. The main entrance of the house faces Roslyn Street.
The side of the house that faces north-east used to have amazing views of Rushcutters Bay. This side has a timber verandah (a covered porch) on the ground floor, supported by sandstone columns. This lower area has now been covered with glass. A newer two-storey part was added later. It is made of rendered masonry, which means it's covered in a smooth plaster-like material.
Later Years and Current Use
Kenilworth stayed in the same family for a long time. It belonged to Henry Williams' family until 1944. That's when it was sold after his youngest daughter, Ethel, and her husband passed away.
St Luke's Care bought the property to make their services bigger. Since then, the top two floors of the house have stayed mostly the same inside, keeping their original timber details. However, the basement has been changed and updated. It is now used as offices for the hospital and aged care services.
Most of the original garden around Kenilworth has been lost over the years due to new buildings. But some old trees still remain. These include a large Ficus rubiginosa and an Araucaria columnaris, which is a type of pine tree.
