33, Gay Street

This is a three-storey house, now a shop with accommodation above, dating from approximately 1735 to 1740, with alterations in the 20th century. It was designed by John Wood the Elder. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar with a slate mansard roof and dormers.

The house has a double-depth plan and features a two-window range. The upper floors have paired windows with six/six-pane sashes. The second floor retains original six/six-pane sashes, while the first floor has plate glass sashes. A rusticated quoin is located on the right-hand side. Steps lead to a six-panel front door, which has a reeded lintel and a semicircular fanlight with radial glazing bars, flanked by 20th-century pilasters and cornice. A shop window, dating from the 1920s or 1930s, is set forward on the right side and is supported by railings to the basement area, which features paired three/six-pane sash windows. There is a paired, flat-topped dormer with plain plate glass sashes. The rear elevation is not visible.

The house is named after Robert Gay, a surgeon and landowner in the area. Leases for the properties were granted shortly after John Wood the Elder’s death in 1754. The street is a steeply rising link between Wood’s urban designs. Originally, the southern part, including No. 33, was known as Barton Street and predated the rest of the street by about twenty years. No. 33 forms part of an irregular terrace of three houses, returning from George Street and developed alongside Nos. 2-12 George Street. The ground lease was taken by John Wood on August 6, 1733, with building leases granted from 1734 onwards, and the Gay Street houses were occupied and subject to rates by 1740. It is believed to be one of the last houses built on the street. This section of Gay Street is less cohesive and has undergone more alterations than other parts therefore it has a lower group value context designation.