Skip to main content
City of Melbourne Libraries
Advanced search
Thumbnail for Brassey House, 111-115 Chapman Street, North Melbourne
Remove from your active Pick listSave for later
Share

Brassey House, 111-115 Chapman Street, North Melbourne

Butler, Graeme16/01/1985
Archives

Total copies: 1

Availability by location
View PDF
Title:
Brassey House, 111-115 Chapman Street, North Melbourne
Creator:
Butler, Graeme (Name details)
Date of work:
16/01/1985
Reference number:
BIF-NORTH 101835
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
Part of:
Series: North Melbourne and West Melbourne (BIF-NORTH)
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
Grading as at 1985 : BPeriod : Mid Victorian (1888)Grantee : J Whitehead 1865___________________________GRAEME BUTLER 1983, CONSERVATION STUDY FOR THE CITY OF MELBOURNE OF NORTH AND WEST MELBOURNE...History- For the time when few women owned property in their own right and when they were rarely listed with their given names, Elizabeth Fry is an exception. A greengrocer of Curzon Street, she owned and occupied this large house from its construction in 1888 until 1895 when the owner is listed as Henry Fry, presumably her son who was a produce merchant of Victoria Street, West Melbourne. Although the house was enlarged between 1890 and 1895, the rateable valuable was halved due to the general slump in property valuesDescription- It is a two-storey, parapetted stucco and brick house with a two-level, arcaded stuccoed masonry verandah and an iron picket fence at the frontage, between columns. Between piers and balustrading, at the parapet, a rectangular entablature is elevated with a scroll-supported shell-motif centrally placed upon it. Stuccoed architraves follow each verandah arch, with central keystones, balustrading, and stylised, tapered pilasters of the Corinthian and Tuscan orders supporting a trabeated overlayer upon the arcuation.Comparable examples include 18 Erin Street, Richmond (c1891; 9 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy; The Joss House, Raglan Street, South Melbourne; Malvern Grammar School, Willoby Avenue, East Malvern; 34 Mercer Road, Malvern; and 26 Sackville Street, Kew.Integrity - The face brickwork was been painted.Streetscape - The commencement of a stuccoed row house subgroup of the Chapman Street precinct.Significance - Architecturally, of high significance in the above comparison, given the stylised tapering of the pilasters, but lacking integrity: ofhigh regional importance.Historically, associated with a local retailer: of local interest....References:(RB= Rate book; D= Melbourne or Victoria Directory)1. D. 1888-892. RB 1889-90, 2759, RB 1895-96, 27133. D. 1895- 964. RB 1890-91, 2789___________________________VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER H26What is significant?Brassey House at 111 Chapman Street was erected in 1888 for Elizabeth Fry. A greengrocer of CurzonStreet, she owned and occupied this large house from its construction in 1888 until 1895 when the owner islisted as Henry Fry, presumably her son who was a produce merchant of Victoria Street West Melbourne.Although the house was enlarged between 1890 and 1895, the rateable value was halved due to the generalslump in progeny values. The five bay brick structure is constructed in the Victorian Academic Classicalstyle. It has a centrally located entrance and a two tier stuccoed arcade on the street frontage. The arcadehas a superimposed trabeated system of tall Doric pilasters on the ground floor and short pedestaledCorinthian pilasters on the first floor. It is surmounted by a parapet with balustrade and inscribednameplate. The floor plan is L-shaped with three main rooms on the ground floor and three on the firstfloor. A basement is situated under the kitchen, which is accessible from external stairs..How is it significant?Brassey House is of aesthetic, architectural, social and historical significance to the State of Victoria..Why is it significant?Brassey House is of architectural and aesthetic importance as an excellent intact example of the architecturedesigned in the boom period of the 1880s. This is demonstrated in its decorative facade in the VictorianAcademic Classical style. Of particular note is the arcading at both levels with a superimposed trabeatedsystem of tall Doric pilasters on the ground floor and short pedestaled Corinthian pilasters on the first floor.Also of note are the painted and stained glass windows around the front door and the ornate balustradedparapet with nameplate. The interior is of particular note for its ceiling roses and intact marble fireplaces.Brassey House is of historical and social significance for its associations with the boom period in Melbournein the 1880s when residences were an embodiment of the owners' success in the world of free enterprise.Brassey house is a rare example of a residence built for a female at a time when few women owned propertyin their own right.
Related material link:
109, 111 Chapman Street, North Melbourne (Butler14967\\)
Names:
City of Melbourne
Topics:
Conservation studiesNorth and West Melbourne Conservation StudyMid-late Victorian period (1875-1900)1880-1889FencesVerandahs
Places:
North Melbourne (Vic.)
Form/Genre:
Building Identification Forms (BIFs)
Record types:
Images, maps and artefacts
Contributors:
Butler, Graeme (Editor) (Name details)
Record number:
1344057
Bookmark link:
https://librarysearch.melbourne.vic.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/OPAC/ARCENQ?SETLVL=&RNI=1344057
TypeReference No.ExtentStatus/Desc
Original1018351 PDF : 2870 KB ; A4Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced)
0