130-134 Capel Street, North Melbourne
Butler, Graeme14/01/1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
130-134 Capel Street, North Melbourne
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Date of work:
14/01/1985
Reference number:
BIF-NORTH 101553 505160 505161 505162
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
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UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
Grading as at 1985 : CPeriod : Mid Victorian (1883-1884)Grantee : W Sydenham 1859These row houses were owned by contractor and building trade supplier, Joseph Ellis, from the time of their construction in 1883 until virtually the close of the century. The first occupants in 1884 were Mary White, Morris Cohen an estate agent, and Christopher Moore. They were followed by a transient population of the lower middle-classes. Joseph Ellis began his plumbing trade at the age of 12 in England. [Cyclopedia of Victoria Vol 1 p 513] He arrived in Melbourne imbued with the idea of 'making a pile'. [Argus 29 April 1903 p 4] He soon headed for the goldfields and just happened to be in Ballarat on the fateful night of December 4th, 1854, during the Eureka uprising. Having..'thoughtlessly walked some distance from his tent'..he was caught up in the proceedings and falsely arrested. He was able to prove his innocence and in the following months worked the diggings or pursued his trade when time were tough. By 1856, he had accumulated enough to establish a plumbing business in Little Collins Street, which was later extended to Peel and Capel Streets in 1863. The firm became renowned for the manufacture of galvanized iron, spouting, etc. and on his several trips to England, Ellis collected fittings and machinery for the Victoria Market. [Cyclopedia of Victoria loc. cit.] Ellis also constructed a number of speculative row houses, in West and North Melbourne.Two-storey, stuccoed brick row houses with parapetted planar facades relieved only by opening architraves, and string and cornice moulds; the walls are built at the street alignment. This sparse form belies the relatively late construction date.Architecturally, of limited architectural import excepting as a near original example of an austere type, typical of a design from a builder-designer, cum speculator. Historically, of local interest as the work of a prominent local builder and builders' supplier, Joseph Ellis.
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Record number:
1342383
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 101553 505160 505161 505162 | 1 PDF : 806 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |