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City Architect and Building Surveyor's Department I

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Plans of the Sydney Town Hall, 1882-1934

Description

Unique IDAS-0141DateBetween 1st January 1882 and 13th September 1934Date qualifiercircaFormatPlanShort descriptionThis series contains the original plans of the Sydney Town Hall, c.1882-1934.DescriptionThis series contains the original plans of the Sydney Town Hall, c.1882-1934. They were created by the City Architect and Building Surveyors Department I (AG-0078).

Most of the plans are originals drawn onto linen tracing paper. Some are prints that have been hand-coloured and signed by the Town Clerk at the time and the contractors who built it.

The Town Hall was built in two sections - first the Council Offices and the Vestibule, and later the Centennial Hall. The plans in this series relate to the construction of the Centennial Hall. The original designs for the Council Offices and the Vestibule (from February 1869) are not in Council's custody. It was alleged by Edward Bell, the City Engineer, that these plans had been taken by J H Willson, the original designer of the Hall who was working as a consultant to Council at the time. (CRS 9/3, Special Committee Minutes, 27 May 1867). There are some plans showing the details used to finish the rooms, the Lobby, the Entry and the corridors of the ground floor of the Town Hall from 1878 held in AS-0179.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE TOWN HALL
In June 1864 a special Committee was appointed to select a site and prepare plans for a Town Hall. The Committee decided to apply to the Colonial Government to use the land on the Old Burial Ground site, next to St Andrew's Cathedral in George Street. The land was granted to Council with the passage of the Cathedral Close Act in 1869.

A public competition for a Hall design was held in 1867 and the winning design was by John Henry Willson. The original plans were modified by the City Engineer Edward Bell (in consultation with Willson) and submitted in February 1869. Bell was dismissed by Council in 1870 but Willson continued to act as an adviser until his death in 1872.

After Willson's death the Clock Tower was designed by brothers Thomas and Edward Bradridge, the City Surveyor and the City Building Surveyor. In 1873 Alfred Bond was appointed City Architect and designed the turrets on the roof and the interior decorations of the Hall.

The date of completion of the building is not clear but the Vestibule was officially opened by Mayor Fowler in 1880 and the Clock Tower was completed in 1881.

Alfred Bond resigned as City Architect in 1877 and was replaced by David McBeath who left in 1880. McBeath was then replaced by Thomas Sapsford.

Sapsford designed the second stage of the building, known as the Great Hall or the Centennial Hall. His designs were released in 1882. The building was opened by Mayor Harris on 27 November 1889.

Sapsford died in 1886 and George McRae became the City Architect. He was assisted by John Hennessy, who had been assistant architect from 1880 until 1884, and now returned as a consultant.

Most of the earlier plans are undated. The first dated plans are the ones signed by the contractors on 10 April 1883.

NUMBERING SYSTEM

Some of the plans have as many as three different numbers on them. At some time during the 1950s, all of the plans of Council property, including the Town Hall, were numbered by the Planning and Building Department. They divided the plans into sets - those on tracing paper (given the prefix ‘T’) and paper prints (Given the prefix ‘P’). Each set was then numbered consecutively. The prefixes ‘P’ and ‘T’ were not actually written on the plans, but the number was stamped on the corner.

The Sydney Town Hall plans were removed from this portmanteau series (now known as AS-0569, Council Plans I) and placed in this separate series. However, the ‘P’ and ‘T’ numbers have been retained. The large gaps in the numbers of this series is partly caused by the fact that not all of the Town Hall plans were numbered consecutively. For example, P1 to P40 are plans of the Town Hall, P41 to P89 are of the Kent Street Substation, P90 to P123 are the Queen Victoria Building, and P164 to P168 are of the Town Hall.

The other reason for the large gaps in the numbers is that since they were numbered, some of the plans have gone missing. There are some plans in this series that had no numbers at all. They were given the next available number by the archivists, for example, P725 and P726.

The plans are fragile (in some cases very fragile) have suffered considerable damage in the past. Access is now only with permission of the City Archivist.
Relationship summaryRELATED TO: Architectural Detail Sheets of the Town Hall AS-0179 (01/01/1878 to 31/12/1878)
RELATED TO: Council Plans I AS-0569 (01/01/1882 to 10/02/1928)
RELATED TO: Specifications for Council Properties AS-0130 (01/01/1885 to 10/02/1928)
RELATED TO: Architectural and engineering design and drafting AY-0087 (01/01/1882 to 10/02/1928)
RELATED TO: Construction and maintenance of buildings and structures AY-0001 (01/01/1882 to 10/02/1928)
LanguageEnglish (eng)

Access

Public access statusRestricted (fragile) - do not issuePublic access noteHigh resolution digital copies have been made of all plans in this series.

Identification and Arrangement

Source system ID141System of arrangementNumerical by item number

Digitisation

Digitisation statusPartially digitised

Data Quality

Authenticity & integrityThese are the original plans drawn up for Council. The records have been held in the Council’s custody and have a high level of authenticity.

Relationships

OrganisationSydney City CouncilRelated seriesSpecifications for Council Properties, 1885-1991 [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]Council Plans I, 1870-1984Architectural Detail Sheets (plans) of Sydney Town Hall, 1878Creating agenciesCity Architect and Building Surveyor's Department IRelated activitiesConstruction and maintenance of buildings and structuresArchitectural and engineering design and drafting

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Plans of the Sydney Town Hall, 1882-1934