The building is named after William Piercy Austin, the first Anglican bishop of Guyana.

[1] The original residence for the bishop was a U-shaped building constructed in 1842, and was named Kingston House.

[2] The Austin House is a wooden building with two steep roofs and Demerara windows.

[2] In 1950,[2] two stained glass windows were installed over the main entrance.

[2] In 1998,[4] Guyana started a procedure to nominate Georgetown as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.