Welshman's store, 582-584 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Welshman's store, 582-584 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 105948
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
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UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________Period: Early VictorianDATE: 1874;ASSOCIATIONS: Welshman, William;DESIGNER: Crouch & Wilson;BUILDER: Linacre & FarnsworthNotable features: Relates to Post Office.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWStatement of SignificanceWhat is significant?582-584 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, built in 1873 for William Welshman and designed by architects Crouch and Wilson.Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):• The building’s original external form, materials and detailing;• The building’s high level of integrity to its original design;• Parapet with simple arched pediment;• Major bracketed cornice and minor cornices;• Original size and pattern of fenestrations;• Decorative rosettes;• Ground level rusticated façade over rock-faced bluestone base; and• Deep architrave with plaster plaque to recessed porch entry.Later changes including the insertion of a large glazed timber panel into the window opening at street level and the new flooring to the entry are not significant.How it is significant?582-584 Little Collins Street, Melbourne is of local historic, representative, aesthetic and associative significance to the City of Melbourne.Why it is significant?582-584 Little Collins Street historically significant for its representation of mercantile development in the mid-Victorian period when Melbourne was rapidly expanding. Dating from the early 1870s, the building is a relatively early example of a commercial office of which not a great many remain from this period. (Criterion A)The building at 582-584 Collins St is a fine example of a classical revival building from the mid-Victorian period. The recessed entry is unusual and the composition of the façade is a scholarly example of Victorian-era classical architectural traditions. (Criterion D)The building at 582-584 Collins St is of aesthetic significance for the high quality of its Victorian architecture. The quality of detailing to the façade is notable for a building from the early 1870s, with this level of detailing more common in the later Victorian period. Details include a rusticated base at street level, a parapet wall with a heavy bracketed cornice and central pediment, a squared entry porch to one side of the building and a set of three rounded arched windows across the upper façade. (Criterion E)The building at 582-584 Little Collins Street is significant for its association with businessman, Colonial Magistrate and St Kilda councillor William Welshman who commissioned prominent architects Crouch and Wilson to design both it and the Union Bond Melbourne Storage Company stores in King Street and Little Collins Street. (Criterion H)Primary sourceHoddle Grid Heritage Review (Context & GJM Heritage, 2020)__________________________________________________.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 85 Lawrie Wilson & Associates, 1977. Historic Buildings Preservation Council Report on CBD Block No 6 Dec 1977, page 225f;__________________________________________________Lawrie Wilson & Associates, 1977.Historic Buildings Preservation Council Report on CBD Block No 6 Dec 1977, page 225f;DESCRIPTIONBrick store, two and cellar floors 1874SOURCE M.C.C. Rate book Cityscope Map 26, Lot 12DEGREE OF INTACTNESS - Alterations to front window, ground floor.STREETSCAPE/ENVIRONMENTAL AreaPart of proposed streetscape No. 2..1. HISTORY.1873 Land not shown in rate book.1874 William Welshman (owner and occupier), brick store, two floors and cellar. (rate book).1875ˇ William Welshman, produce and commercial agent.The date of construction is therefore placed at 1874, however, it is interesting to note that the 1880 Panorama (Illustrated Australian News) shows the land as vacant.2. DESCRIPTION.Two storey building with Italianate styling and simple detailing. The prominent crowning cornice, the semi-circular windows and the bluestone plinth are attractive features in a building of such modest scale, and contribute to the streetscape qualities of the area.3. RECOMMENDATION.The retention of the Little Collins Street facade as an important element in the proposed streetscape No. 2 is essential, and although its addition to the Historic Buildings Register is not justified, the facade should be preserved by planning scheme controls.__________________________________________________LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX:Records 71753 Crouch; Welshman,- Melbourne VIC Warehouses Martin & Peacock - 141 William St 1881 10 7 8957, MCC registration no 8957 [Burchett Index]. Fee 3.10.0bond store King near cnr King & Little Collins76813 Crouch & Wilson; Welshman, - Melbourne VIC Warehouses Linacre & Farnsworth - 262 Madeline St 1873 07 25 5497, MCC registration no 5497 [Burchett Index]. Fee 2.10.0 store, Little Collins - west of King__________________________________________________CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWHO1279Commercial building582-584 Little CollinsStreet(1873)Architect: Crouch & WilsonSignificance· Historically significant for its representation of mid-Victorian mercantile development and as an early office.· Significant as representative of a mid-Victorian classical revival building with unusual entry.· Aesthetically significant for its high quality Victorian architecture, with notable façade detailing for the era.· Significant for its association with William Welshman, businessman, Magistrate and St Kilda councillor, and notable architects Crouch and Wilson..SITE HISTORYCommercial buildings have existed on this site since 1855. (Fels, Lavelle & Mider 1993).The existing two-storey commercial building at 582-584 Little Collins Street (Figure 1, Figure 2) was erected in 1873 for owner William Welshman, colonial magistrate and St Kilda councillor. It was designed by prominent architects Crouch and Wilson, and built by Linacre and Farnsworth (MCC registration no 5497, as cited in AAI, record no 76813).Figure 1. A section of lithograph by A C Cooke (1882), showing the two-storey building at 582-584 Little Collins Street. (Source: Cooke 1882)In 1884, Welshman advertised:having completed the erection of…extensive premises in Little Collins Street west, near Spencer-street Railway Station, [William Welshman] begs to inform Millers, Storekeepers, Farmers, Vignerons, and others that he is now desirous of acting as COMMISSION AGENT for the Sale of Flour, Grain, etc., etc. Superior dry and well-ventilated Cellar for Storage of Wine. Goods- of every description sold or purchased on commission (Ovens and Murray Advertiser 28 February 1874:1).Welshman had his agency in the building until 1877, with bitters and cordial manufacturer, Joseph Steane and Co, sharing the premises until the early 1880s (S&Mc 1875-1884).In 1881, William Welshman commissioned architects Crouch and Wilson, who designed the subject building, to erect bond stores on the adjacent land at the corner of Little Collins and King streets.Watt and Co’s print workshop occupied the building during the 1880s and 1890s, and James Hardie and Co’s leather factory used the building until 1902 when the company relocated to 581-583 Little Collins Street, across the road (S&Mc 1892-1901).The Standard Plan of Melbourne compiled by Mahlstedt and Gee in 1888 shows the two-storey brick building with windows in every elevation and doors to the north and east elevations (Mahlstedt Map no 16, 1888). Adjacent to the northwest corner of the building was an outdoor shed with toilets (MMBW Detail Plan no 738, 1895).From the early 1900s until the 1940s, the building housed the offices of numerous mercantile businesses, including self-raising flour manufacturer Brockhoff and Co (S&Mc 1903); the Columbus, USA Manufacturing Company (S&Mc1906); wine and spirit merchants, D J Tuomey and Co (S&Mc 1910-1925); and oil fuel importers H C Sleigh (S&Mc 1930-1942).It appears that by 1948 the outbuilding had been upgraded with fireproof walls, expanded to two storeys, and merged into the main building with a new interior access from the workshop spaces (Mahlstedt Map no 23, 1948).The building was refurbished and converted to a bar and restaurant in 2001.Figure 2. 582-584 Little Collins in the 1970s, from Little Collins Street north between Godfrey and King Streets, Melbourne, Vic., c.1972, by K J Halla. (Source: Halla c1972, STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA copyright)Crouch & Wilson, architectsBorn in Hobart, Tasmania in 1832, Thomas James Crouch (1832/3-1889) was a pupil of Alexander Dawson, an officer of the Royal Engineer's Department, and as such, was one of the first architects to be articled to a professional in Australia. In 1850, he commenced practice in Tasmania and moved to Melbourne in 1852, recommencing practice there in 1854 after working on the Bendigo and Beechworth goldfields and speculating on real estate in South Yarra. In 1858 he was joined by Ralph Wilson (? - 1886) in the firm Crouch and Wilson, a partnership that lasted until 1881. The partnership name continued with Crouch’s son, Ernest W M Crouch, and Wilson's son, Sydney H Wilson, who became principals by 1889 (Tibbits 2012:183-84).REFERENCESAustralian Architectural Index (AAI), as cited. Copyright Miles Lewis.Butler, Graeme 2011, ‘Central City Heritage Review 2011-Heritage Assessments,’ prepared for the City of Melbourne.Context Pty Ltd 2012, Thematic History: A History of the City of Melbourne’s Urban Environment, prepared for the City of Melbourne.Cooke, A C 1882, ‘Melbourne’, State Library of Victoria (SLV), accessed 22 June 2017.Fels, M, Lavelle S, and Mider, D 1993, ‘Archaeological Management Plan’, prepared for the City of Melbourne.Halla, K J c.1972, ‘Little Collins Street north between Godfrey and King Streets, Melbourne, Vic’, State Library of Victoria (SLV) Halla collection of negatives. Views of East Melbourne, Fitzroy, Melbourne and North Melbourne, accessed online 22 June 2017.Mahlstedt and Gee 1888, Standard plans of the city of Melbourne, Mahlstedt and Gee, Melbourne.Mahlstedt's Pty Ltd 1925, City of Melbourne detail fire survey. Section 1, Mahlstedt Pty Ltd, Melbourne.Mahlstedt's Pty Ltd 1948, City of Melbourne detail fire survey. Section 1, Mahlstedt Pty Ltd, Melbourne.May, Andrew 2008, ‘Flinders Lane’ in eMelbourne, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne, http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00586b.htm, accessed 13 June 2017.Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) Detail Plan, as cited, State Library of Victoria.Ovens and Murray Advertiser, as cited.Sands and McDougall, Melbourne and Suburban Directories (S&Mc), as cited.Tibbits, George, 2012 ‘Crouch & Wilson’ in Goad, Philip and Willis, Julie (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
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1254479
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 105948 | 1 JPEG : 515 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |