Sydney House

Sydney House is a detached house, later converted to offices, dating from 1835-6. It is attributed to the architect John Pinch the Younger. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar with a single-pitched slate roof, featuring moulded stacks to the returns. It has a double-depth plan.

The house is three storeys and a basement, exhibiting a symmetrical five-window front. A coped parapet with balustraded panels above the windows rises up on the returns to meet the stacks. There is a cornice and frieze, alongside a ground floor platband, banded rustication and incised voussoirs to the ground floor. The north-eastern front has moulded architraves to the upper floor windows. The second floor centre window is a small three-pane sash, flanked by square two-pane casement windows. First-floor windows have cornices, friezes, bracketed sills, six panes to the upper sashes, and two horizontal panes to the lower sashes. French windows to the ground floor have margin panes and overlights. The central three bays slightly project forward. The returns have a mix of sash and blind windows. An overlight to a six-panel door on the left return has triangular margin panes to a rectangular central pane.

The rear, facing Sydney Gardens, has a prominent three-bay projection which steps forward, with a lower two-storey range stepping further forward with an impressive segmental bay. To the front, a similar balustraded parapet, cornice and frieze is present. Four Corinthian columns flank three six/one-pane sash windows, accompanied by late 19th-century sunblind boxes. A segmental curved cast iron trellised balcony fronts the central block.

The interior was not inspected and was sub-divided into flats in 1983. The house is axially aligned with the former Sydney Hotel (now the Holburne Museum) and was built on ground taken out of the north-eastern corner of Sydney Gardens. The Loggia below was rebuilt during the building's construction.