Court House Hotel

Oxford Street

A. Imperial quarter pint flask. Clear glass, applied top. Rare. Embossed on front: "H.S. WESSEL COURTHOUSE HOTEL OXFORD STREET". 

B. Imperial half pint flask. Rare. Same features as above. (See below for close-up of paper label as found on back).

C. Imperial quarter pint flask made for William Cordingley. To date this is the only size found but it is likely he had larger bottles as well. Clear glass, applied top. Rare. Embossed on front: "W.C. CORDINGLEY COURTHOUSE HOTEL OXFORD STREET".

Paper label as found on reverse side of B. (as above).

"WEST INDIA RUM BOTTLED BY R.S. WESSEL, OXFORD STREET DARLINGHURST'.

Imperial Quart flask. Clear glass, applied top.

Extremely rare.

A judge's head motif appears on front of bottle (see close-up below). Embossed on front: "QUART  H.S. WESSEL COURT HOUSE HOTEL OXFORD STREET". 

Note: About two examples known to date, including this (broken) example. Found on the ground in 1999 by a very lucky, amateur collector...

Private collection.

Close-up of Judge's head, as above. 

Imperial Pint flask. Clear glass, applied top. Rare. A judge's head motif appears on front of bottle. Embossed on front: "PINT H.S. WESSEL COURT HOUSE HOTEL OXFORD STREET". 

He was a publican of several hotels in Sydney before he and his wife, Bridget, purchased the Court House Hotel. 
He had a drinking problem, often going on a binge for several weeks at a time. This ultimately led to the break-up of his marriage and he spent the later part of his life living at the Hotel. Despite his drinking, he was a very shrewd businessman living off his investments. He died in 1923. (Reference: William Cordingley's grandson, aged 80).
As fate would have it, William's wife, Bridget Cordingley, became one of the best known and respected members of the Sydney hotel trade with her involvement spanning some 50 years and being actively associated with the management of nine hotels.

Born in Tipperary, also from a middle class background, Bridget migrated to Australia in June, 1881, aboard the Potosi. She stayed with her uncle, John Malumby, who was licencee of a hotel at the corner of Sussex and Druitt Streets, Sydney. 

Married at 19 to her first husband, James O'Brien, who was licensee of the Cambridge Hotel, they moved after one year and 11 months to the Erin-go-Braugh Hotel, in York Street North. Unfortunately, O'Brien died and Bridget, as a young widow, became licensee.

She was eight years at the Erin-go-Braugh, and during that time married Cordingley. With her new husband they went to The Excelsior Hotel, Pyrmont Bridge Road, Glebe. After that it was the Rugby Hotel in Newtown, and in 1899 they arrived at the Court House Hotel. They stayed for about seven years, selling out in 1906 (creating the first sale in NSW of hotel property on promissory note terms). In 1908, they purchased a 25 years lease of the Britannia Hotel, then being built at the corner of Castlereagh and Kinag Streets. Mrs Cordingley took over the licence herself in 1914, selling out seven years later.

Moreover, she subsequently held the licence of two hotels in King Street - The Liverpool Arms, for two years, and The York Hotel, for one year.

In 1929 she bought the freehold of the popular eastern suburbs residential Hotel Mansions, remaining the licensee until her death on August 31, 1933.

Herman Samuel Wessel had followed Cordingley as publican at the Courthouse Hotel.

He married Mary D. Reichardt at Waverley in 1902, and his son, Thomas Eric Wessel, was born in 1903. From 1903-1904, Wessel was at the Clarence Hotel, 250 Parramatta Road, Petersham. Although his whereabouts in 1905 are unknown, he was at the Courthouse Hotel from 1906-1920. 

Wessel's son, Thomas, died prematurely in Waverley on June 26, 1919. Mary Wessel had died a few years earlier, in Ranwick on December 15, 1916. 

Despite the best efforts, so far there is no more information about H. Wessel. He is well known amongst bottle collectors for using the sought-after trade mark of a judge's head, complete with legal garb.

The hotel was named in honour of being located opposite Darlinghurst Court House in Taylor Square, and stories have been told of many legal minds having a drink or two at the 'other' Courthouse. Perhaps the Judge's head bottles were really very popular amongst the legal set? The hotel is still in business today.