Thomas Spencer row houses, 30-40 Molesworth Street, North Melbourne
Graeme Butler and AssociatesJul-91
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Thomas Spencer row houses, 30-40 Molesworth Street, North Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
Jul-91
Reference number:
BIF-NORTH 106714 106715 106716 106717 106718 106719
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
GRAEME BUTLER 1983, 1991 CONSERVATION STUDY FOR THE CITY OF MELBOURNE OF NORTH AND WEST MELBOURNEGrading as at 1991 : BPeriod : Mid Victorian (1881-1882)Grantee : C Hardware 1865History- These row houses were built as a speculative development for Thomas Spencer from 1881-2, and leased to people who were generally shopkeepers and unskilled workers by occupation, e.g. Alfred Dymott (1883), Alexander McDonald (1883) Ellen Taylor, Brigelle Horan, John Moody and Andrew Walker who was part of the boot making trade, so important to North Melbourne.Description- Two unusually detailed groups of two-storey stuccoed brick row houses comprising a pair and four houses on either side of a row. Their parapetted rooflines have segment and full-arched profiles, with scrolls and acroteria, and are set above a continuous cornice, supported by Ionic pilasters. These are supported from podiums above a string-mould at the storey line. Impost moulds link the upper windows which are composed of triple lights in the case of 34-40 Molesworth Street. The lower level is recessed, whilst the upper façade is supported on cast-iron brackets and posts emanating from the verandah side walls and floor. A scalloped bas-relief moulding is used below the upper window sills. An iron fence is used at the frontage.Integrity - Podiums, string-moulds and parapet acroteria to 34-40 have been removed and some joinery details and the upper window (24) altered.Streetscape - Major contributor to the Molesworth Street residential preSignificance- Architecturally, unusually formed and detailed row, with crisply executed mouldings and a successful streetscape quality, being set to the building line and disposed about a row, thus gaining maximum prominence in the street: of State significance. Historically, of little known significance except as speculative rental housing: of local interest.Recommendations –• Repaint in original or typical colours;• restore details on facade and joinery, particularly the string-mould to 34-40 and the window arch to 34.References:(RB= Rate book; D= Melbourne or Victoria Directory)1.RB 1883-84. 2524, 2526; RB 1885-86, 67; RB 1881-82, 2472.
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Record number:
1589335
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 106714 106715 106716 106717 | 1 PDF : 838 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |