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Eaton's Hotel, Pennant Hills - a history
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DetailsA railway station at Pennant Hills opened on 5th April 1887, whilst Thornleigh Railway Station opened six months before with the Northern Line on 17th September 1886.
Being the first station opened Thornleigh was initially much busier. Importantly it also had a goods siding yard which meant orchardists went there to load their fruit for market.
Local man Patrick Duffy took advantage of this when he opened the Royal Hotel opposite Thornleigh Railway Station in 1891. The Royal was a two-storey brick building with 19 rooms. The ground floor included a public bar, parlour bar, dining room, breakfast room and sitting room, with most of the accommodation upstairs. Out the back for guests’ animals were four stalls in the stables and a coach house.
Duffy did well with his Hotel at Thornleigh until Pennant Hills Railway Station got its own goods yard and the Hampden Hotel opened adjacent to the station, in 1899. Patrick Duffy sold up in 1903, and the Hotel had many new licensees over the next few decades. However, the Royal Hotel at Thornleigh was not a particularly profitable concern with most of the trade going to the nearby Hotel at Pennant Hills.
In 1927 the Royal Hotel at Thornleigh closed and its licence was transferred to a new hotel at Epping.
The Hampden Hotel in Pennant Hills was built in 1898 by George Eaton, right next to the railway station on the corner of Railway Street and Pennant Hills Road. It was a large building, initially planned as a tourist hotel and a health resort. By the standards of the day it was modern and one of the few first-class hotels outside the city.
The hotel was named after Viscount Hampden, who was the Governor of NSW at the time of opening. It was described as a ‘family hotel’ with nineteen rooms for residential accommodation. The cost of construction was over four thousand pounds and it was intended to be a venue for country holidays. The Hotel was an immediate success and booked out well in advance. The owner immediately invested in additions for more accommodation and other facilities.
Some of the early guests at the Hampden Hotel included George Reid and his wife in 1900 (Reid was elected Australia’s fourth Prime Minister in 1904), and A.B. Patterson (Banjo) and his new wife, in April 1903.
Soon after it opened, in May 1899, the hotel was embroiled in a scandal when trusted local barman James Kelsey (34) was given a cheque for £25 to make several purchases in Sydney for the Hotel. Kelsey went into Sydney by train but went missing and it was thought he met with foul play as his distressed wife was left at their home in Pennant Hills. However, Kelsey was eventually located and charged with larceny.
The original owner and publican was George Eaton who lived in a large weatherboard cottage on the corner of Pennant Hills Road and George Street, near where the KFC is located today. Eaton was highly esteemed throughout the district and was elected to Hornsby Shire Council in 1911. However, he suddenly died in November the same year aged 52.
In the early years Hampden Hotel guests and visitors regularly participated in organized pigeon shooting competitions on the Hampden Grounds. The competition would commence after trains from Sydney arrived with participants and once lunch at the Hotel was eaten. The competitors were assured of plenty of birds being available and generous prizes of up to £100 (put up by Eaton) for the winner.
In 1915 the Hampden Hotel had an extensive renovation which included a new tennis court, located where the Hotel’s car park is today.
The Hampden Hotel was a favorite of Prime Minister Billy Hughes who stayed there in the lead up to the December 1922 election. However, this was not successful as Hughes was not re-elected as Prime Minister and the Hampden Hotel was forced to sue him for payment of £15 owed from his pre-election stay.
On 26th June 1962 the Hampden Hotel was formally renamed the Pennant Hills Hotel. Then on 18th November 1970 the name changed again to the Pennant Hills Inn.
Today its name is Hotel Pennant Hills, although most people know it as Penno Pub. Much of the original 122 year old building has been preserved amid the outer extensions and renovations.
For a time in the 1990s the Hotel had a busy nightclub called, Patrick’s, which also hosted a number of well-known bands over the years. Patricks nightclub disappeared in the 2013 renovations and today that part of the pub is now a family friendly bistro.
CreatorNathan TilburyKeywordsEaton's HotelPeannat HillsPennant Hills HotelRoyal Hotel
Being the first station opened Thornleigh was initially much busier. Importantly it also had a goods siding yard which meant orchardists went there to load their fruit for market.
Local man Patrick Duffy took advantage of this when he opened the Royal Hotel opposite Thornleigh Railway Station in 1891. The Royal was a two-storey brick building with 19 rooms. The ground floor included a public bar, parlour bar, dining room, breakfast room and sitting room, with most of the accommodation upstairs. Out the back for guests’ animals were four stalls in the stables and a coach house.
Duffy did well with his Hotel at Thornleigh until Pennant Hills Railway Station got its own goods yard and the Hampden Hotel opened adjacent to the station, in 1899. Patrick Duffy sold up in 1903, and the Hotel had many new licensees over the next few decades. However, the Royal Hotel at Thornleigh was not a particularly profitable concern with most of the trade going to the nearby Hotel at Pennant Hills.
In 1927 the Royal Hotel at Thornleigh closed and its licence was transferred to a new hotel at Epping.
The Hampden Hotel in Pennant Hills was built in 1898 by George Eaton, right next to the railway station on the corner of Railway Street and Pennant Hills Road. It was a large building, initially planned as a tourist hotel and a health resort. By the standards of the day it was modern and one of the few first-class hotels outside the city.
The hotel was named after Viscount Hampden, who was the Governor of NSW at the time of opening. It was described as a ‘family hotel’ with nineteen rooms for residential accommodation. The cost of construction was over four thousand pounds and it was intended to be a venue for country holidays. The Hotel was an immediate success and booked out well in advance. The owner immediately invested in additions for more accommodation and other facilities.
Some of the early guests at the Hampden Hotel included George Reid and his wife in 1900 (Reid was elected Australia’s fourth Prime Minister in 1904), and A.B. Patterson (Banjo) and his new wife, in April 1903.
Soon after it opened, in May 1899, the hotel was embroiled in a scandal when trusted local barman James Kelsey (34) was given a cheque for £25 to make several purchases in Sydney for the Hotel. Kelsey went into Sydney by train but went missing and it was thought he met with foul play as his distressed wife was left at their home in Pennant Hills. However, Kelsey was eventually located and charged with larceny.
The original owner and publican was George Eaton who lived in a large weatherboard cottage on the corner of Pennant Hills Road and George Street, near where the KFC is located today. Eaton was highly esteemed throughout the district and was elected to Hornsby Shire Council in 1911. However, he suddenly died in November the same year aged 52.
In the early years Hampden Hotel guests and visitors regularly participated in organized pigeon shooting competitions on the Hampden Grounds. The competition would commence after trains from Sydney arrived with participants and once lunch at the Hotel was eaten. The competitors were assured of plenty of birds being available and generous prizes of up to £100 (put up by Eaton) for the winner.
In 1915 the Hampden Hotel had an extensive renovation which included a new tennis court, located where the Hotel’s car park is today.
The Hampden Hotel was a favorite of Prime Minister Billy Hughes who stayed there in the lead up to the December 1922 election. However, this was not successful as Hughes was not re-elected as Prime Minister and the Hampden Hotel was forced to sue him for payment of £15 owed from his pre-election stay.
On 26th June 1962 the Hampden Hotel was formally renamed the Pennant Hills Hotel. Then on 18th November 1970 the name changed again to the Pennant Hills Inn.
Today its name is Hotel Pennant Hills, although most people know it as Penno Pub. Much of the original 122 year old building has been preserved amid the outer extensions and renovations.
For a time in the 1990s the Hotel had a busy nightclub called, Patrick’s, which also hosted a number of well-known bands over the years. Patricks nightclub disappeared in the 2013 renovations and today that part of the pub is now a family friendly bistro.
CreatorNathan TilburyKeywordsEaton's HotelPeannat HillsPennant Hills HotelRoyal HotelClick on the image to add
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Nathan Tilbury, Eaton's Hotel, Pennant Hills - a history. Hornsby Shire, accessed 01/04/2026, https://hornsbyshire.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/5660