Banks Brothers Bell and Co. offices and warehouse, later Flinders House, 238-244 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Title:
Banks Brothers Bell and Co. offices and warehouse, later Flinders House, 238-244 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 103963 1
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Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
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Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2021:DATE: 1869-70, 1909, 1927-8;ASSOCIATIONS:Banks Brothers Bell and Co.;Sargood & Co.DESIGNER: Billing Son & Peck (1909);BUILDER: Turnbull & Dick; James Nation fittings.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYHistoryBuilders, Turnbull and Dick, converted a modest brick warehouse and workshop to a large warehouse, containing five floors and stabling at the rear; commencing work in 1869. Clothing manufacturers and importers, Banks Brothers Bell and Co. were the first owner-occupiers; the architect's name was not recorded. After occupation for near 40 years, the firm commissioned architects, Billing Son & Peck, to design an extra storey which they conceived in an attic form. Melbourne views of c1875 and 1880 show the building, minus added floor.The firm was established near the wharf in 1851 and then at the Swanston and Lonsdale Streets' corner barely a year or two prior to the erection of this building. The manufacturing arm of their business was added at Pelham Street, Carlton in the mid 1880s. Then simply Banks & Co., the firm's principals were E H Banks, E Tyson, P H Nhill, C F Criswick and Robert Stroud. Their extensive Carlton Pelham Street factory was built in the mid 1880's. By 1900, Stroud who had joined the firm in 1861 had become the operative partner and their offices extended as far as London's Charterhouse Square.By c1910 the building was occupied by Sargood & Co. remaining so for another 10 years. By 1930 it was Flinders House with a conglomerate of warehousemen and agents, having received some ₤1500 worth of new Egyptian revival terra cotta shopfronts (as existing) in 1928.DescriptionIllustrated in c1887, the then ground, basement and 3 upper level warehouse was shown as freestanding with horse-drawn carts entering a near central door on its eastern face in Manchester Lane. The ground level comprised a central, generously-sized entry alcove with three segment-arched pilastraded openings on either side, each supplemented at ground level by segment-arched basement lights. The upper levels, with the Italian Renaissance Palazzo inspired fenestration, are pictured much as they are today, with the finelygraduated scale of each successive storey, culminating in the traditional, almost square, attic windows of the top level. Deep cornice brackets, set at close centres, are distinctive, whilst the attention to architectural detail isunusual for a Warehouse of this period. Alterations, executed in boldly prismatic terra cotta faience, hascompletely changed the ground level and offset the fine balance of the Renaissance hierarchy, converting the former seven openings to three.External IntegrityExternally near original, given added top level, but altered in a contrasting, if symmetrical manner, at groundlevel, during 1928, to accommodate retail rather than wholesale trade.StreetscapeAdjoins Manchester House (234-6), 1912, and Invicta House (226-232), 1925 : both possession element of classical revival fenestration and a similar scale. Opposite is the impressive Royston House (1899), 253-55 Flinders Lane (1900), and the massive classical revival Nicholas Building at the corner. This precinct comprises the best group of late Victorian and Edwardian Warehouses in the C.A.D.SignificanceAs a surviving, relatively complete Warehouse, it is among the earliest (if not the first) to adopt the new Italian Renaissance manner, as distinct from the traditional bluestone Warehouse or bonded Store built in Melbourne from the late 1840's, (compare with the basalt 585 - Little Collins Street, 1865); it perpetuates the accepted theme of Flinders Lane as the heart of the Manchester trade; and supports a notable late 19th Century early 20th Century Warehouse streetscape..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites 78,p4; CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS 1909, 1347 Banks & Co.MURPHY ARCHITECTS, JOHN AND PHYLLIS 1976. HISTORIC BUILDINGS STUDY OF PART OF THE C.B.D. MELBOURNE : { AREA 1} WITH MURPHY, JOCK, FOR HISTORIC BUILDINGS PRESERVATION COUNCIL7.10238-244 Flinders Lane - Flinders HouseConstruction Date 1870Architect : Charles Webb. 1 (see 7.4)In 1870, a fine warehouse was built in Flinders Lane as the city premises for the thriving firm of Banks and Co. Established in 1851, by William Banks, this softgoods and clothing manufacturing business was continued by Messrs. Bell, Grieve, Lihill and Tyson. 2 Its Carlton factory was `supplied with power to drive the sewing and cutting machines, thereby saving labour and adding to the comfort of the ,hands’, 3 proving itself a progressive and successful firm.This fine warehouse with its well-proportioned, rendered facade and classical details reflects the importance and prosperity of such a firm in the middle years of the last century. It now has an extra storey when compared with the contemporary illustration, but as it shown in the Rate Books of 1870 as 5 floors,4 it may be assumed that it was added soon after or at the time of building.Originally, it was served by stables at the rear with a packing room aboveCites:Smith, James, (ed), The Cyclopedia of Victoria. Vol 1, The Cyclopedia Company, Melbourne (1903), P 502.Sutherland. A. (ed), Victoria and Its Metropolis Vol lI, Melbourne, (1888) P 592.Municipal rate books (1870). Latrobe Ward No. 308.LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX:Record 76108 Banks Bros., Bell & Co Melbourne VIC Warehouses Turnbull & Dick - Melbourne 1869 04 10 3144 MCC registration no 3144 [Burchett Index]. Fee 6.0.0 warehouse Flinders Lane.VICTORIAN HERITAGE INVENTORY H7822-1808First land sale 1837, Block 5, Allotment 13, Thomas Hood. 1866 - building on site. 1877 - four-storey building, Bank Bros andBell & Co, warehouse. 1888 - same, also two-storey stables. 1905 - five-storey building and two-storey building..CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONSIndex Lit Collins St - Spencer Sthttps://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/60672/images/44777_349577-003351922-1927 Dec 10248 ₤15000 alts and additions to building1928 June new shopfront etc..NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers (Melbourne, Vic. : 1867 - 1875)Monday 27 December 1869 - Page 6https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/60448984MESSRS. BANKS BROTHERS, BELL AND CO.'S WAREHOUSE,FLINDERS- LANE EAST.Another mercantile palace.The new addition to our city architecture, of which we proceed to give a description, has a frontage of 66 feet to Flinders-lane by a depth of 157 feet 6 inches. The fine proportions of the front, and its careful finish in detail, are to a very great extent lost by the narrowness of the street, and the close proximity of other large buildings, precluding the possibility of viewing the building to advantage. The exterior is in the Italian style, finished in Port- land cement (except the basement story, which is of well-wrought bluestone). The front to Flinders-lane is 71 feet high to the top of the parapet. The principal entrance to the building' is in the centre of the front, consisting of a pair of large folding doors. A projecting cornice over the doorway, supported by two large ornamental trusses, enriched with festoons of fruit, gives prominence to the entrance.On each side of it are three basement windows, with ornamental cast-iron guards, and above them, on each side to the ground floor, are three windows with segmental arches. The first floor windows to the front are seven in number, and have circular pediments over them, supported by ornamental trusses. The second floor windows are similar to the first floor windows, except that the pediments are omitted ; immediately under these windows there is a moulded and enriched string course. The windows to the top story have plain architrave with moulded sills supported on ornamental blocks. Above the top windows is the main cornice, supported by cantilevers ; the space in the frieze between the cantilevers having enriched circular panels. The cornice is surmounted by a parapet, with a chain balustrade, &c.The main building is five storys high. Its isolated position gives great facility for lighting and ventilation, and this advantage has been made the most of consequently every story, including even the basement, is well lighted throughout. From the principal entrance, a flight of twelve steps leads through a lobby up to the ground floor ; on the left of the entrance are the clerks' and private offices, and on the right the sample room. The whole of the offices and entrance lobby are constructed of polished cedar, the panels filled in with ornamental ground plate-glass. Two rows of cast-iron columns, with bronzed foliated capitals, extend the whole length of the ground floor, supporting the wrought-iron girders of the floor above, the girders being en- cased with polished cedar, mouldings also of polished cedar extend along the walls between the several girders, thus dividing the ceiling into nine compartments. A spacious staircase in the rear (directly opposite to the entrance) leads to the next story above. This staircase forms a prominent feature in the interior, having handsome polished cedar newels and bronzed foliated cast-iron balusters. From the half landing of the stairs a pair of folding doors communicates with the entering room beyond, while six arched openings through the main wall, three on each side of the staircase, opens the entering room to view from the ground floor ; in the several openings are ornamental iron balusters, similar to those of the staircase. The first and second floors are finished in a similar manner to the ground floor. The top floor is appropriated to bulk and bonded goods.The cost of the building, including fittings, lifts, &c., is about £18,000. Mr. Charles Webb, of 102 Collins-street east, is the architect ; Messrs. Turnbull and Dick, the contractors for the building ; Mr. Nation, contractor for the fittings..1907The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)Friday 8 February 1907 - Page 5https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10614493A PIONEER OF `THE LANE.’DEATH OF MR. ROBERT STROUD.The death of Mr. Robert Stroud, which took place yesterday afternoon at his residence, in Camberwell, removes a familiar figure from softgoods circles in `the Lane’ and the mercantile community. As stated in `The Argus’ of Tuesday, he suffered from a complication of troubles; but al though his condition caused grave anxiety to his immediate friends, they did not anticipate that the end was so near. The news of his death sped with painful surprise among his business associates, who held him in the highest esteem as an honourable, upright man, and many of the warehouses flew their flags at half-mast as a tribute to his memory. Mr. Stroud, who had attained his 70th year, was born in Devonshire. He served his apprenticeship in the London warehouse of Messrs. I. nnd R. Morley, of Notting- ham, and after acquiring further experience in the trade, came to Melbourne, to enter .the employment of Messrs. Banks Brothers, Bell and Co., arriving at Hobson's Bay on Christmas Eve, 1861, by the SS Great Britain. His career in Melbourne was one of steady progress, and the position he ultimately gained as head of the firm of Banks and Co. was due to his shrewd common sense and business capacity, undoubted pro bity in all his transactions, and a geniality of manner which gathered around him a lot of friends. About 18 months ago Mr Stroud left on a holiday visit to England, and before doing so admitted into partnership Mr. Joseph Bell, a nephew of the late Mr. William Moore Bell, a pioneer of `The Lane’ and one of the founders of the firm of Messrs Banks Brothers, Henderson and Bell, of Flinders-court, off Flinders lane, in the year 1854. One of the last visitors at Mr. Stroud's bedside was Mr. Henry Butler, who left for London on Tuesday by the RMS. Mongolia.Mr. Butler arrived at Melbourne in the Money Wigram sailing ship True Briton, on Christmas Day, 1861 and proceeding to Tankard's Temperance Hotel, Lonsdale street, met Mr. Stroud, and the friendship they then formed was maintained through all the intervening years. Mrs. Stroud, who is in frail health, has survived her husband. There is no family. The funeral will take place tomorrow afternoon, at half-past 3 o'clock, at the Boroondara Cemetery..1908https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/169892853Mr. Paul Henry Nihill attained his 81st birthday… Entering the service of Banks Brothers, Bell, and Co., of Flinders-lane—the predecessors of the present firm of Banks and Co.—he rose to be a partner, and retiredfrom active participation in the business in 1895.1911Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918)Tuesday 3 January 1911 - Page 7https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/89830485OBITUARY.General regret will be expressed at the news of the death of Mr. J. F. Treadway, the well-known draper, which occurred on Sunday morning at his residence, `Lockinge’, Studley-avenue, Kew. Mr. Treadway, who was 64 years of age, was a son of the late Mr. Henry Treadway, trimming manufacturer, London.He arrived in Victoria 45 years ago in the sailing ship Highflyer, from Liverpool. He was first employed by Messrs. Banks Brothers, Bell, and Company, warehousemen, Flinders-lane, and later started business on his own ac- count in Carlton. His business prospered greatly, and at the time of his death he was proprietor of the establishment of Messrs. J. F. Treadway and Co., Smith-street, Collingwood, and of The Coliseum, Chapel- street, Prahran. He leaves a widow and three daughters, the latter being respectively married to Messrs. James V. Acton, C. B. Kelly, and A. W. Dunlop, all partners in the firm. The deceased gentleman spent many years of his early life in Eaglehawk. Mr. Humphrey Campbell, farmer and grazier, of Meadow Valley, and an old and well-respected resident, died on Sunday at Mrs. Cocks's private hospital, Heathcote, aged 70 years..DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1930238-242 Sargood, Gardiner Ltd, warehousemen1942ELECTRICITY SUPPLY DEPARTMENT(State Electricity Commission of Victoria)Tel Cent 10310 (10 lines, all hours)238-242 Offices & Showrooms
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Banks Brothers Bell and Co. offices and warehouse, later Flinders House, 238-244 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (Butler13780\\)Banks Brothers Bell and Co. offices and warehouse, later Flinders House, 238-244 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (Butler13780\\)Banks Brothers Bell and Co. offices and warehouse, later Flinders House, 238-244 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (BIF-CITY 103963\\)
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
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| Original | 103963 1 | 1 JPEG : 255 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |