Former "Pomeroy House" Including Interiors

Item details


Name of item:	Former "Pomeroy House" Including Interiors
Other name/s:	National Cash Register House, International House
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Commercial
Category:	Other - Commercial
Location:	Lat: -33.8694184721281 Long: 151.205002602661
Primary address:	14-16 York Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Local govt. area:	Sydney

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
14-16 York Street	Sydney	Sydney			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	Former 'Pomeroy House' is a nine storey building of Federation Free Classical style. The building is historically significant for its contribution to the renewal and continuation, in the early twentieth century, of the well-established nineteenth century warehouse precinct of York Street. It is an important building in the professional work of the noted architectural partnership of Robertson & Marks. The building is aesthetically significant as an outstanding example of a highly intact original commercial exterior with well resolved detailing with outstanding potential, due to its successive restorations, to continue in its restored state. The building is significant for its contribution to the York and Barrack Street streetscapes.
	Date significance updated: 22 Nov 11
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Robertson & Marks
Builder/Maker:	Howie, Brown & Moffat
Construction years:	1914-1915
Physical description:	Consistent with its style, the facade is broken into three parts - a strong two-storey base of sandstone and banded brickwork, a comparatively plain office block and a wide, elaborately moulded cornice with supporting brackets and sheaf motifs. The sandstone is rock faced at the base and rendered above the 1st floor level. Both facades are terminated at one end by a higher pedimented tower which extends the tripartite arched window of the end bay. The other end bay is incorporated into the chamfered corner where there is an oriel. The middle bays, two to York St and six to Barrack St, are arched with sandstone voussoirs and sills. There is one pedimented single storey corner entry, and two double height semicircular entries incorporating pedimented doorways. The two storey base of the building repeats the semicircular arches. The attic addition replaced the original mansard roof and possibly dates from 1931. The plan is rectangular. Category:Individual Building. Style:Federation Free Classical. Storeys:9. Facade:Face brick, sandstone. Side/Rear Walls:Face brick, standstone. Internal Walls:Rendered masonry, plastered brick (1979). Roof Cladding:Waterproof membrane (1979). Internal Structure:Reinf. conc. column & beam (1979). Floor:Reinf. conc. slab (1979). Roof:Reinf. conc. slab (1979). Ceilings:Susp. plasterbd. (1979). Stairs:2 (1979/88). Fire Stairs:2 (1979). Sprinkler System:Yes. AirConditioned:Yes Lifts:4 (1979/88).
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	In general the building is intact externally and in reasonable condition with minor repair work required to the stone and mortar. The windows have been replaced with new glazing and spandrel panels. Internally the building has been rebuilt with a new reinforced concrete structure and no evidence of original finishes exists. Intrusive Elements:The infill glazing to the ground floor.
	Date condition updated:13 Jan 06
Modifications and dates:	1914-1915
Further information:	High Significance:All the intact original fabric of the north and west façade. Low Significance:All the interior spaces. Heritage Inventory sheets are often not comprehensive, and should be regarded as a general guide only. Inventory sheets are based on information available, and often do not include the social history of sites and buildings. Inventory sheets are constantly updated by the City as further information becomes available. An inventory sheet with little information may simply indicate that there has been no building work done to the item recently: it does not mean that items are not significant. Further research is always recommended as part of preparation of development proposals for heritage items, and is necessary in preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments and Conservation Management Plans, so that the significance of heritage items can be fully assessed prior to submitting development applications.


Current use:	Offices
Former use:	Offices

History

Historical notes:

The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters.

With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney.

(Information sourced from Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani )

In December 1913 the Sydney Morning Herald announced that in the office of architects Robertson & Marks, tenders were being received for the erection of warehouse premises on the south-western corner of York & Barrack Streets. The building was being erected for the trustees of the estate of Jeremiah Brice Rundle. Rundle was a squatter, merchant and businessman. In the 1880s he was a member of the NSW Legislative Council, a director and chairman of the Australian Joint Stock Bank, and a director of various other companies. He died at his residence Pomeroy, Potts Point in 1893. The warehouse erected in 1914-1915 on the corner of York and Barrack Streets was named Pomeroy House in honour of Rundle and it retained this name until the early 1940s. The building was an early twentieth-century high-rise contribution to an already well-established warehouse precinct in York Street. It replaced an old stone 4-storey warehouse which had provided premises for a company of woollen merchants and the British Clothing Manufacturers Ltd. Another high-rise warehouse, designed by architect George Sydney Jones, had been built a few years earlier on the south-eastern corner of York and Barrack Streets for Alcock Brothers. The Herald explained that Pomeroy House would be of nine stories and a basement with the ground floor of the facade in freestone and the upper floors in OK brickwork relieved with stone dressings. The mansard roof was to provide the caretakers' quarters, the lower floors were to be fitted out as offices and the upper floors to be let as warehouse rooms. When the new building was first listed in Sands' Sydney Directories in 1916 the tenants included warehousemen on the second and third floor. By 1917 additional tenants included a millinery manufacturer on the first floor and an export company on the eight floor.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Commerce-Activities relating to buying, selling and exchanging goods and services	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The building contributes to the renewal and continuation, in the early twentieth century, of the well-established nineteenth century warehouse precinct of York Street. It is an important building in the professional work of the noted architectural partnership of Robertson & Marks. Has historic significance at a State level.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	Has aesthetic significance at a State level. Cultural:The building is an outstanding example of a highly intact original commercial exterior with well resolved detailing with outstanding potential, due to its successive restorations, to continue in its restored state. The exterior is well resolved in its detailing and is noted for its use of sandstone decorative trim. The building is significant for its contribution to the York and Barrack Street streetscapes.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The building is an outstanding example of a highly intact original commercial exterior and is significant for its contribution to the York and Barrack Street streetscapes.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

General: The overall form of International House should be retained and conserved. A conservation plan should be prepared to guide the future use and maintenance of the place. Finishes never intended for painting such as the sandstone and face brick should continue to be appropriately maintained. Surfaces intended for painting such as the timber windows should continue to be painted in appropriate colours. Exterior: All remaining intact fabric on the external facades such as the face brickwork and the sandstone should be retained and conserved. Future work should recover significance by reinstating new glazing to the ground floor arches, similar to the original design. As the original building has already been added to and is a significant feature within the streetscape there should be no vertical extension. Any future development should preserve the existing form of the building. Door and window openings should not be enlarged or closed in. Interior: As the interiors have been extensively remodelled and there is little of significance remaining inside the building, further alterations could be carried out, provided such work does not compromise further the facades of the buildings. The building should be retained and conserved. A Heritage Assessment and Heritage Impact Statement, or a Conservation Management Plan, should be prepared for the building prior to any major works being undertaken. There shall be no vertical additions to the building and no alterations to the façade of the building other than to reinstate original features. The principal room layout and planning configuration as well as significant internal original features including ceilings, cornices, joinery, flooring and fireplaces should be retained and conserved. Any additions and alterations should be confined to the rear in areas of less significance, should not be visibly prominent and shall be in accordance with the relevant planning controls.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012	I1973	14 Dec 12
Heritage study

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written		1915	Building 12.4.1915 p.3 (photo);
Written		1913	Sydney Morning Herald 25.11.1913 p.12;
Written		1913	Sydney Morning Herald 2.12.1913 p.6;
Written			Sydney City Council Archives CRS 710: 884/13;
Written			Australian Dictionary of Biography 1851-1890 pp.71-72: entry for Jeremiah Brice Rundle
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2423856

Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the Database Manager.

All information and pictures on this page are the copyright of Heritage NSW or respective copyright owners.