Sydney Supreme Court House, Heritage courthouse in City of Sydney, Australia
The Sydney Supreme Court House, also known as the Greenway Wing, is a two-storey rectangular courthouse at King and Elizabeth Streets. Its face sandstock brick facade has a round-arched arcade on square piers, a stone cornice and a parapet concealing the roof. The original Georgian building, with cedar joinery and a cupola, gained a loggia and cornice in 1868, giving it a Victorian Italianate look.
Francis Greenway designed the courthouse in 1819 and building began in 1820; he was dismissed before it was completed in 1828, and the Supreme Court occupied it in 1827. James Barnet added the loggia and cornice in 1868, giving the Georgian building its Italianate arcade and raised parapet. It is one of three surviving Greenway buildings in the area, with Hyde Park Barracks and St James' Church.
The site was chosen for Macquarie's first Georgian public school, apparently modified during construction to house the Supreme Court, which occupied the building in 1827. The courthouse forms part of Greenway's central axial group with Hyde Park Barracks and St James' Church. The building is also known as the Old Court House.
The Greenway Wing stands at the corner of King and Elizabeth Streets, within the Queen's Square court group, and is still a working court, so visitors view it from the outside. The wide stone steps and arched entrances face the square, and daylight shows the brick and stone trim of the facade best.
The interior wood fittings and intricate ceiling details showcase the skill of 19th-century craftspeople. These fine details are visible when viewing the staircases and public areas up close.
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