Former wool store "John Taylor Wool Stores" including interiors and industrial artefacts (wool press)

Item details


Name of item:	Former wool store "John Taylor Wool Stores" including interiors and industrial artefacts (wool press)
Other name/s:	John Taylor's Wool Stores, FL Barker Wool Store, Waite and Bull Building
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Commercial
Category:	Warehouse/storage area
Location:	Lat: -33.872668250921 Long: 151.194521245517
Primary address:	137 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont, NSW 2009
Local govt. area:	Sydney

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
137 Pyrmont Street	Pyrmont	Sydney			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	This former wool store, erected in 1893, is historically highly significant for its association with the period when Pyrmont was the home of Sydney's wool stores. The wool industry was an invaluable income earner for Australia and in the first half of the 20th century most of the product exported from New South Wales went through Pyrmont wool stores such as this one. The building was designed by Arthur Blacket who was a notable designer in his own right and was a member of a leading family of architects. The building, with its strongly rectangular facade, emphasis to arches and plain face brickwork, is a good example of the Federation Warehouse architectural style. Being of large scale with vast areas of brickwork and effectively occupying a whole block, the building is a prominent landscape element in Pyrmont. The former wool store's early use of recessed arches and its structural use of iron, give the place technological significance. Its layout, lighting and the presence of the wool press reflect aspects of warehouse design and wool handling during the period. The McComas and Price Williams Wool Press within the building is one of the largest wool presses known in New South Wales and the only one known to have survived in Sydney from the late nineteenth century.
	Date significance updated: 18 Aug 16
	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:	Arthur Blacket
Builder/Maker:	Adamson & Dow
Construction years:	1893-1893
Physical description:	The site contains a five storey wool store with basement partly above street level, and four levels, which demonstrates typical characteristic of the Federation Warehouse Style including vast areas of plain face brickwork, recessed arched fenestration with the interruption of horizontal brick cornices above and below the second floor windows. The building was the first of the Pyrmont wool stores to use recessed brick arches on the facades. The building is of great scale and effectively it occupies a whole block, consequently the former wool store has a strong presence in the Pyrmont townscape. At ground and first floor levels there are two storey high recessed semi-circular arched panels, each containing a central semi-circular arched window on each level. The second floor contrasts this with flush brickwork but similar windows, whilst the top level (fourth floor) has recessed arched panels to each window. Lintels and archivolts are of contrast colour bricks and the facade is curved around the Pyrmont Street/Pyrmont Bridge Road corner. The building has a sawtooth roof with typical horizontal band glazing, concealed behind an encircling parapet, with segmental arched pediments on the Pyrmont Street and Pyrmont Bridge Road frontages, the former with the name John Taylor and Company and the date 1893 painted on it and the latter with a moulded stucco sheep emblem. Internally, timber floors are carried on wrought iron girders, double timber beams and cast iron cruciform columns. The structural use of steel is early. The building has been renovated for commercial use. An original McComas and Price Williams hydraulic wool press remains on the top floor.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	In good condition with a high degree of original fabric intact and high potential for restoration.
	Date condition updated:17 Mar 05
Modifications and dates:	Post 1951 -Several upper storey windows to the Gipps Street and western elevation were enlarged during Waite and Bull's occupation of the building. 1990s- tenancy fit -out works to the design of Allen Jack and Cottier which included a new lift, bathrooms on each floor, upgrade of services, concrete toppings over all existing timber floors, new partitions and conversion of loading bays facing Pyrmont and Gipps Streets to a new main entrance and to a new tenancy respectively. 2004 - New fit-out to the top level
Further information:	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:	Warehouse, Office
Former use:	Warehouse

History

Historical notes:

Historical Overview

This site forms part of the land of the Gadigal people, the traditional custodians of land within the City of Sydney council boundaries. For information about the Aboriginal history of the local area see the City’s Barani website: http://www.sydneybarani.com.au/

The first land grants were made in 1794 to John Malone (24 acres) and William Mitchell (18 acres) and in 1795 to Thomas Jones (55 acres). John Macarthur acquired the portion originally granted to Thomas Jones in 1799 and this eventually became the Pyrmont Estate but remained largely undeveloped. The area was named in 1806 after a popular German spa near Hanover. Following Macarthur’s death in 1834, the first plans for subdivision were proposed by his son Edward in London 1836. These were deemed unsuitable and a second plan of 101 lots was devised in 1839. By 1843, most lots south of John Street and some to the north had been sold or leased and developed for residential use. John William Russell, a Sydney shipbuilder, purchased 2 lots fronting Pyrmont Bay and constructed a shipyard, and similarly shipbuilder Thomas Chowne leased lots fronting Johnstons Bay. In 1844 Pyrmont was incorporated into the City of Sydney and the early 1850’s saw a number of major developments in Pyrmont and also in Ultimo to a lesser extent.

In 1853, the Sydney Railway Company resumed 14½ acres of the Ultimo Estate for a railway line to and with a terminus at Darling Harbour. Also in 1853 Charles Saunders purchased land from the Harris family for a sandstone quarry on the northwest side of the peninsula. This developed into a substantial operation including a causeway to Darling Island and supplying stone for the construction of a number of major buildings in Sydney including the University of Sydney, Colonial Secretary’s Building, Lands Department, General Post Office, and other buildings in Melbourne, New Zealand, Fiji and Canada. Other industries established in the area at the time included an iron foundry. The first Pyrmont Bridge c1858 (a timber toll bridge from Market Street) stimulated further development in the area. The first school in the area located in Mount Street was opened in 1858 and around the same time a Police Station, Presbyterian and Catholic Churches were established. A bridge was constructed in from Pyrmont to Glebe across Johnstons Bay c1860.There was significant industrial growth in the area in the 1870s including the City Iron Works and the Colonial Sugar Refinery Company (CSR) in 1878. By the early 1880s Union Square was established as a commercial centre and by 1900 most residential development had ceased by which time the Pyrmont and Ultimo Power Houses had opened and the new Pyrmont Bridge had been constructed. Most development in the 20th century was commercial and industrial and included additional woolstores, Pyrmont Incinerator (1934) , flour mills (1940), additional power stations (1955) and the Government Printing Office (1960’s).

The wool store:
The Ultimo Estate was subdivided in 1859 but the site appears to have remained undeveloped until the construction of the wool store in 1893. The building was originally owned by John Taylor, a successful pastoralist, although it was first leased to FL Barker and Co. The building was designed by Arthur Blacket, son of Edmund Blacket, Colonial Architect from 1849-1854. The design was a complete departure of the ornamental High Victorian wools stores of the previous decade and demonstrated a change in Blacket's architectural expression.

The building was leased to Hill Clark and Co, wool brokers from 1895 until 1923.

William Haughton and Company, wool brokers, operated the store from 1923 until 1951, when the building was bought by Waite and Bull, commercial printers. Several upper storey windows to the Gipps Street and western elevation were enlarged during Waite and Bull's occupation of the building.

The building was subject to tenancy fit-out works in the early 1990s to design of Allen Jack and Cottier Architects.

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 has historic significance as it dates from 1893 when Pyrmont was the home of Sydney's wool stores. The wool industry was an invaluable income earner for Australia, and in the first half of the 20th century most of the product exported from New South Wales went through Pyrmont wool stores such as this one.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The building was designed by Arthur Blacket who was a notable designer in his own right and was a member of a leading family of architects.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The building, with its strongly rectangular facade, emphasis to arches and plain face brickwork, is a good example of the Federation Warehouse architectural style. Being of a large scale with vast areas of brickwork and effectively occupying a whole block, the building is a prominent landscape element in Pyrmont.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	The former wool store's early use of recessed arches and its structural use of iron, give the place technological significance. Its layout, lighting and the presence of the wool press reflect aspects of warehouse design and wool handling during the late 19th century.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The building has a McComas and Price Williams Wool Press, one of the largest wool presses known in New South Wales and the only one known to have survived in Sydney from the late nineteenth century. It has further interest because of its possible association with the hydraulic system.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The building is a representative example of the Federation warehouse architectural style found in Ultimo/Pyrmont.
Integrity/Intactness:	High
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:

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 the saw tooth roof, timber beams, cast iron columns, joinery and flooring 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. The face brickwork is not to be rendered, painted or coated.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012	I1263	14 Dec 12
Heritage study

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Pyrmont/Ultimo Heritage Study	1990		Anglin Associates		No

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	137 Pyrmont Street: Heritage Impact Statement	1999	Allen Jack and Cottier Architects
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City	View detail
Written	Balint, E		Study of Historic Commercial Building Construction in New South Wales
Written	City Plan Heritage	2004	137 Pyrmont Street, Pymont: Heritage Impact Statement

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:	2424379

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.