Near-frontal, daytime: the whole east front, with the two-storey lime-washed cottage at right and the sandstone wing with two arched openings at left, shingled roof, two chimneys, sandy forecourt in front, trees behind. Uploader's own work, declared public domain.

Cadmans Cottage

110 George Street, The Rocks

Built as the Coxswains’ Barracks for the Government Dockyard. About 1816. Colonial, Sydney Sandstone.

Size
Two storeys
Material
Whitewashed sandstone rubble, dressed sandstone plinth, string courses and pilasters
Status
State Heritage Register, 1999. Closed for conservation works

A drawing by James Wallis, made in the first months of 1816, already shows it finished, a two-storey stone building at the water’s edge. It was the Coxswains’ Barracks, beside the Government Dockyard, built hard against a rock shelf so that part of its lower floor is natural bedrock. It is the oldest building in The Rocks and the third oldest in the city.

It takes its name from John Cadman, the longest-serving government coxswain. He was transported in 1798 for horse stealing, held a pardon by 1814, and lived here from 1827 until he retired in 1845. The Water Police followed, and then it became part of a Sailors’ Home until 1970.

The sea left it behind. Filling around 1870 to 1875 cut it off from the water, and Circular Quay now lies about 100 metres away. A 1972 restoration tried to return it to its early form, and in doing so removed much of the evidence of its later life. The shingle roof and big chimneys you see today are reconstructions, and the chimneys are larger than any shown in the old sketches. The masonry is the only major element left from the original period.

The stone

Rubble walls were cheap, and this building shows the old colonial trick of keeping dressed stone for what showed: the plinth, the string courses, the corners and the openings. A lintel engraved G.R., for George III, came to light in 1972. The same work sandblasted the walls.

Read about Sydney Sandstone

Sources

  1. Cadmans Cottage, Wikipedia
  2. Cadman's Cottage, Dictionary of Sydney (archived by State Library of NSW)
  3. Cadman's Cottage, The Rocks (Placemaking NSW)