Work has begun on the first stage of a major restoration of the stonework gracing the Sydney Hospital, Australia’s oldest hospital.
The site contains four buildings, with stonework on the other three to be restored in future stages. The present project involves the façade of the administration building at the Sydney Hospital, which forms the centrepiece of the three hospital buildings facing Macquarie Street.
Works to be undertaken include repairing damaged stone, the installation of lead to protect the cornices and the stone carvings and repointing of stone joints.
Sydney Hospital’s chief engineer Chris Foulstone says he is pleased the meticulous and detailed stonework on the hospital’s façade will be preserved for future generations. “The old lady of Macquarie Street is about to enter another golden era in architectural restoration in keeping with the superior health services of this grand facility,” he remarks.
Sydney Hospital occupies the centre portion of what was once Governor Macquarie’s Rum Hospital, constructed in 1866. The front of the State Parliament and the Mint are the remaining Rum Hospital buildings.
In the 1800s architect Thomas Rowe won a design competition for the four sandstone buildings, and architect John Kirkpatrick completed the new hospital in 1894 to a revised design.
Source: Building Products News.