Visit Argyle Place to admire a row of colonial-era terraces in Georgian, Italianate and Victorian style. Argyle Place is part of the much-loved inner-city district known as “Millers Point” in The Rocks, right by the southern entrance to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Argyle Place takes you back to the early days of European settlement in Australia. Intensive rock quarrying created a passageway through the steep ridge that divides Millers Point in two. Known as the Argyle Cut, the quarry allowed for Argyle Street to be extended and Argyle Place to be developed.
Start your tour at the area’s landmark Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, Sydney’s oldest continually licensed watering hole. Then, follow the Village Green park out to admire the terraces of Argyle Place.
You will pass the Osborne House at 34 Argyle Place. It has a cobblestoned courtyard and brickwork with Greek Revival detailing. The residence is part of the estate of a local publican named William Cole, who constructed six townhouses here before he went bankrupt.
You also can’t miss number 46-48, which dates back to 1926 and is the oldest remaining terrace house at Argyle Place. It used to be one house but now consists of two private dwellings.
The free-standing sandstone house next door, number 50, was constructed around 1833 for the sea captain George Grimes, the son of the state’s Surveyor-General. George Grimes died in 1854 in another residence he owned in Argyle Place, but number 50 still known as “Grimes Cottage” today. It was long owned by the state government, but sold for over 4 million Australian dollars in 2015.
Nearby, on Lower Fort Street, stands the Church of the Holy Trinity, which was constructed with the rocks of the Argyle Cut. This was Australia’s first military church when it opened its doors in 1844 and it’s still known as the Garrison Church today. Browse its small hallway exhibit about the early days of the Australian military.
The nearby Argyle Stairs take you to Cumberland Street, right under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Because Argyle Place is still part of the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), the village square is easy to get to by public transportation and taxi and the nearby Barangaroo Reserve has a big parking garage.
