Bucks Head Hotel stables, 15-21 Sutherland Street_ Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Title:
Bucks Head Hotel stables, 15-21 Sutherland Street_ Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 109254
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
Part of:
Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2023:__________________________________________________DATE: 1853;ASSOCIATIONS: John McLean;DESIGNER: John McLean?;BUILDER: John McLeanPeriod: Early Victorian.LOVELL CHEN 2017. GUILDFORD & HARDWARE LANEWAYS PRECINCTDescriptionThe former Bucks Head Hotel stables survive as a bluestone-walled volume with elevations to Sutherland Street, Guildford Lane and McLean Alley. Externally, the building is substantially intact to itsc. 1853 state, with internal elements such as stabling and haylofts (evident in Figure 42) apparently removed and replaced with modern fabric. Original external walls survive and are largely comprised of random undressed bluestone. Some dressed stone has been used to create a canted corner at the intersection of Guildford Lane and Sutherland Street and the principle entry at the intersection of McLean Alley and Sutherland Street, although the masonry work is generally executed in a simple and unrefined manner. Some modest changes to the exterior have been undertaken, notably, the introduction of a wide window to the McLean Alley elevation and a more modest window to Sutherland Street. However, these changes have had little impact on the blunt and somewhat primitive expression of the building. Its original role as a rudimentary, walled compound of an unusually early construction date in the CBD remains legible.How is it Significant?The former Bucks Head Hotel livery stables at 15 Sutherland Street is of historical and aesthetic/architectural significance to the State of Victoria.Why is it Significant?The building is historically significant as a rare surviving mid-nineteenth century livery stables in the central city, with a construction date of 1853. It is the earliest building identified in the Guildford and Hardware Laneways Precinct;73 and an early surviving building in the CBD context. It was associated with the 1848 Bucks Head Hotel, which operated until 1913, and as such is a reminder of early commercial development in the city. It is also demonstrative of the significance of stables operations, including the commercial enterprise associated with livery stables. Unusually, the building’s importance as a ‘piece’ of old Melbourne was recognised in a 1934 newspaper article. Aesthetically, while a structure of simple cubic massing and monolithic appearance, it is nevertheless a robust building with a strong corner form to Guildford Lane and Sutherland Street, and a chamfered corner to Sutherland Street and McLean Alley. Its high bluestone walls make a significant contribution to the character of the adjacent laneways. The chamfered corner to the south-east of the building is also original, and denotes the entrance to the original pitched central yard. The entrance was in turn strategically located across the alley from the Bucks Head Hotel. Despite some alterations, notably the introduction of modern glazing, the building is remarkably externally intact to its original mid-1850s form..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM MELBOURNE AND METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS DP 1017 of 1895 shown as stables rear of Bucks Head Hotel; 1856 Bibb map shows similar outline._________________________________________LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX:Record 74076 Mclean, John Melbourne VIC Stables McLean, John 1853 02 9 235_________________________________________LOVELL CHEN 2017. GUILDFORD & HARDWARE LANEWAYS PRECINCT - PRECINCT CITATIONThis building is assessed as being of State significance.Corner building with significant elevations to three building frontages.3.6.2 Bucks Head Hotel stables, 15 Sutherland StreetThis property is known as the (former) Bucks Head Hotel stables, at 15 Sutherland Street, Melbourne. Itwas previously graded E.What is Significant?HistoryThe bluestone walled building at 15 Sutherland Street is a remnant of the former Bucks Head Hotel stables, constructed in c. 1853. The Bucks Head Hotel was established in Little Lonsdale Street in 1848. Eventually the evolved hotel complex spanned McLean Alley to the north of the hotel, and remained a linked site with the stables until the 1950s.The ‘new and spacious hotel’ was opened by Roderick McKenzie, and attached to the premises were most ‘most excellent stables and bullock yards’.61 In 1851, William Lamont placed advertisements in the Argus newspaper to inform that he had ‘rented the stables at the rear of the Buck’s Head Hotel’ for operation as livery stables (not the current building). Lamont emphasised that ‘the attention paid to and the accommodation provided [for] horses will be first-rate’.62 Livery stables were commercial enterprises; horse owners paid to accommodate their horses on a short or long term basis. The form of Lamont’s livery stables is unknown, but it appears that the venture was successful enough to enable construction of a more substantial bluestone structure.By 1852, the hotel was under the management of John McLean, after whom McLean Alley is named.63 In February 1853, McLean gave notice to the City of Melbourne of his intention to build public stables at the rear of the Bucks Head Hotel, near Little Lonsdale Street.64 The Bibbs plan of 1857 (Figure 40) shows the layout of the stables, with the chamfered corner entry at the site’s south-east corner. The stables building and rear of the hotel can also be seen in a c. 1860 photograph by Charles Nettleton (Figure 41), with a high bluestone wall and ridged hipped roof visible. The 1861 municipal rate books describe the hotel complex as comprising ‘bar, cellar, 15 rooms, shed [and] stables.’65 It appears the stables were not always used for livery purposes, and their operation as such likely depended on demand by hotel patrons. An auction notice for the hotel in 1872 noted the rear yard with its ‘stabling, outhouses’, and the ‘valuable property at the rear … with substantial bluestone buildings thereon, which might be adopted for storey or factory.’66 A subsequent sale notice of 1881 described this rear building as a ‘brick and stone store, of three flats well and substantially built. Also stabling for 15 horses.’67 It is unclear if alterations had been made to the building between 1872 and 1881, although the inclusion of brick and ‘three flats’ in the description indicates some change.The 1894 MMBW detail plan identifies that the building was still a stable (denoted by an ‘S’), and also shows that it included loft spaces (Figure 42). The 1901 Sands & McDougall directory listing for Sutherland Street identifies William Gunn as occupying livery stables.68 Gunn operated the stables untilc. 1905, when the building was taken over by ironmongers and merchants, John Cooper & Sons, as a store and stable.69 The hotel lost its license in 1913, during the period of the Licences Reduction Board (1900s-1910s).70 In the 1930s, a number of newspaper articles identified the bluestone building as an early stables, sometimes erroneously associating it with Cobb & Co. coaches. A somewhat nostalgic article in the article Argus of 1934 described the building:Across the lane at the back of the house [hotel] is a small stable … still fitted with the original wood horse stalls, hay loft and iron rings in the wall for tethering horses. In spite of its modern use as a motor spraying shop it is one of the quaintest pieces of early Melbourne …71The hotel complex was put up for sale in 1951, and the hotel was demolished and replaced with a car park.72 The former livery stables survived and are now used as a site office.Figure 40 Bibbs plan of 1857, showing Bucks Head Hotel and stables (indicated). Little Lonsdale Street is at the bottom of the imageSource: copy held by Lovell Chen, from State Library of VictoriaFigure 41 View east from Queen Street, c.1860, with McLean Alley in centre and the stables building indicated; the Bucks Head Hotel is across the alley to the rightSource: H2497, Charles Nettleton, State Library of VictoriaFigure 42 MMBW detail plan 1017, 1894, with Bucks Head Hotel at bottom and the stables to the north (indicated); note the central pitched yard and the U-shaped stables and loft building Source: State Library of Victoria
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1263260
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 109254 | 1 JPEG : 797 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |