Cleve's Bonded Store, later Heymason's Free Stores, 523-525 Little Lonsdale Street (rear), Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
Archives
Total copies: 1
Title:
Cleve's Bonded Store, later Heymason's Free Stores, 523-525 Little Lonsdale Street (rear), Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 106021
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
Part of:
Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________Period: Early VictorianDATE: 1854, 1899;ASSOCIATIONS: Cleve Brothers, merchants;DESIGNER: Unknown;BUILDER: Amess & McLaren, Melbourne.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYStatement of SignificanceHistoryThis warehouse was shown in 1866, as part of a larger store consisting of a transverse gabled wing (iron) at the frontage and adjoining two simple gabled stores which extended eastwards along an `L-shape' right-of-way. Bibb's 1856 plan shows a similar outline.The merchant, Charles Cleve, owned the store initially, (1854-1859), but it passed to his wife Adel's father, Sigismund Steibel, in 1859, who conveyed it to Samuel Steibel and, in turn, the merchant, Henry Raphael in 1870. It returned to the Cleve family (Sali Cleve) in 1885. Cleve brothers occupied it in the 1850s, followed by Goodman Teale & Co., and, in the late 1860s, the Teale brothers, (Sali and Danial). Edward Wrigley Free Stores were there in the 1890s. Goodman Teale & Co., later Teale Brothers, also owned the large three-storey stone stores abutting this site in William Street, while Cleve Brothers' main stores were at the Lonsdale and King Streets' corner.It was Edward Smith's fender factory early this century, Frater's French Polishers in the 1930s, and storage space for Milledge Brothers around World War Two. The parapeted, Queen Anne style brick wing facing the street was added c1899-1903, possibly after Frederick Tate's ownership.Although described as a customs agent and possessing a different surname spelling, Tate and the more famous Tait brothers might have had some things in common, old cinema handbills having been found in this building during recent renovations.Description(Renovations in progress). A simple, end-gabled and coursed basalt rubble warehouse, built with one main level and a low basement. Internally, there was the typical heavy timber beams and columns with shaped timber cross-heads as capitals. Windows were barred and a cat-head survived at the south end. The brick Little Collins Street wing is a gabled, parapeted and after the Queen Anne style. It now provides the northern wall of the old store.External Integrity(Renovation in progress). Generally original, except for a new doorway at the south end and minor alterations to joinery. It is assumed that some alteration occurred when the brick wing was added.StreetscapeBordering a pitched Lane off one of Melbourne's service streets, it is typically (if not obviously) sited. Prior to recent demolition of stores in this area, (Lonsdale/La Trobe Streets), it was part of a recognizable concentration of surviving warehouses.SignificanceAs an early stone warehouse in the CAD, it compares with the more substantial 71-73 A'Beckett Street, (1854), the renovated and altered 6-8 Highlander Lane (1854) and 1-3 Swanston Street (1854) now part of Young & Jackson's Hotel. Others exist in King and Flinders Streets, in various stages of integrity. It is among the earliest surviving, relatively original (renovations in progress), stone warehouses in Victoria, but appears to have always been a secondary store for its major owners (Cleve Brothers, Teale Brothers)..BRYCE RAWORTH PTY LTD, 2002 REVIEW OF HERITAGE OVERLAY LISTINGS IN THE CBDHistory and Description(front wing)523-525 Little Lonsdale Street, was constructed c.1896 [D1884-96] as a single storey store [Butler]. The designer and builder are not known. The first occupant of the new building was Joseph Heymason's free stores [D1896].The building is a simple red brick structure with some rendered decorative detail confined largely to the upper sections of the facade. The building presents a symmetrical elevation to Lonsdale Street with shallow arched windows flanking a similarly arched doorway. Arches are distinguished by rendered keystone devices applied to the red brick voussoirs. Glazing to the ground floor has been modified, but above, a decorated cornice and parapet feature an unusual triangular pediment suspended above the red brick parapet on decorative pilasters. There is some evidence of damage from vehicles accessing the rear of the property and sections of the brickwork are in need of repointing but the building is generally in sound, original condition.Statement of Significance523-525 Little Lonsdale Street is of aesthetic significance at a local level for its unusual facade. It is an early example of the red brick and render styling that would dominate local architecture around the turn of the century.Footnotes:Sands & MacDougall, Directory of Victoria, (D) prior to 1884, list two independent tenancies, Sands & MacDougall, Directory of Victoria, 1896 has a single entry at 525 with none at 523 suggesting the construction of a single structure encompassing the two former addresses.Butler, CAD Conservation Study, 1985, 523-525 Lt Lonsdale Street.Sands & MacDougall, Directory of Victoria,(D) 1896.(Rear wing, stone store)History and DescriptionThe building at 523-525 Little Lonsdale Street, was constructed for Charles Cleve in 1854-51 as a single storey plus basement warehouse. Today, it is largely obscured by a later building situated between the original building and the Little Lonsdale Street frontage. The warehouse is located on a steeply sloping site which reveals the basement as a full ground floor towards the rear of the building. It is constructed of bluestone with face brick at window and door openings. Original booms for lifting aparatus at the rear of the building are still in place. Despite the replacement of some sections of face brick and the construction of a new, but sympathetic, rear entry, the building is remarkably intact to its early state and in very good condition for its age.Statement of SignificanceThe former warehouse at 523-525 Little Lonsdale Street is of aesthetic and historical significance at a state and local level as a particularly intact example of an early warehouse within Melbourne's CBD.Footnotes:Perrot, CAD Study, 1979, pp 183-188.Butler, 1985, CAD Conservation Study, rear of 523-525 Lt Lonsdale Street..GRAEME BUTLER & ASSOCIATES 2011, CENTRAL CITY (HODDLE GRID) HERITAGE REVIEWStatement of SignificanceWhat is significant?The merchant, Charles Cleve (of Cleve Brothers), owned the store initially, (1854-1859): commissioning a `stone and iron store' in Little Lonsdale St West, near William St. The builder was Amess & McLaren, Melbourne. The stone store at the rear of this warehouse complex was shown in the 1866 isometric, as part of a larger store consisting of a transverse gabled wing (iron) at the frontage to Little Lonsdale Street and adjoining two simple gabled stores which extended eastwards along an `L-shape' right-of-way. Bibb's 1856 plan shows a similar outline.The store tenure passed to Adel Cleve's (Cleve's wife ) father, Sigismund Steibel, in 1859, who conveyed it to Samuel Steibel and, in turn, the merchant, Henry Raphael in 1870. It returned to the Cleve family (Sali Cleve) in 1885. The Cleve brothers occupied it in the 1850s, followed by Goodman Teale & Co., and, in the late 1860s, the Teale brothers, (Sali and Danial). Edward Wrigley's Free Stores were there in the 1890s. Goodman Teale & Co., later Teale Brothers, also owned the large three-storey stone stores abutting this site in William Street.Cleve Brothers' main stores of 1858 were at the Lonsdale and King Streets' corner (234-244 King St, Victorian Heritage Register) owned by them until 1870 and continuously occupied until 1888. Cleve's Lonsdale St store operated as a bonded store for goods with import tariffs from 1859 to 1888, whilst the King Street buildings operated as a Free Store between 1856 and 1888. Bonded and free stores that operated under the colonial tariff system before Federation in 1901 were located close to the docks on the Yarra River, where most inter-colonial and international goods were landed in Victoria. This type of store is a reminder of the historic mercantile importance of this part of Melbourne.The parapeted, Queen Anne style brick wing facing the street was added c1899-1903, possibly after Frederick Tate's ownership. This was Edward Smith's fender factory early this century, Frater's French Polishers in the 1930s, and storage space for Milledge Brothers around World War Two.The rear wing is a simple, gabled-ended and coursed basalt rubble store, built with one main level and a low basement. Stone lintels are used at openings. Internally, there was the typical heavy timber beams and columns with shaped timber cross-heads as capitals. Windows are barred and a cat-head survives at the south end over a partly bricked-in loading bay.The later red brick Little Collins Street wing is a gabled, parapeted and designed after the Queen Anne style, with a raised gabled pediment, segmentally arched façade openings with stylised cemented keystones, stone cills and a stone plinth. It now provides the northern wall of the old store. The Queen Anne style was to prevail in commercial architecture and then residential throughout the following Edwardian-era.The stone store and brick warehouse are generally externally original, except for changes to the loading doors at the south end of the store and new joinery to the façade openings of the brick warehouse.Bordering a stone pitched Lane off one of Melbourne's little service streets, the store and warehouse are typically sited. Demolition in this area, (Lonsdale/La Trobe Streets) during the late 20th century has depleted what was a recognizable concentration of surviving warehouses.Cleve's store compares with the more substantial 71-73 A'Beckett Street, (1854), the renovated and altered 6-8 Highlander Lane (1854) and the altered 1-3 Swanston Street (1854) now part of Young & Jackson's Hotel. Other later examples exist in King and Flinders Streets, in various stages of integrity.How is it significant?Cleve's Bonded Store, later Heymason's Free Store complex is significant historically and aesthetically to the Melbourne Capital City Zone.Why is it significant?Cleve's Bonded Store, later Heymason's Free Store complex is significant historically as, in part, an early stone bonded store in the Capital City Zone and among the earliest surviving, relatively original stone stores in Victoria, with a long association with the pioneering Cleve Brothers. Bonded and free stores that operated under the colonial tariff system before Federation in 1901 were located close to the docks on the Yarra River, where most inter-colonial and international goods were landed in Victoria. This type of store is a reminder of the historic mercantile importance of the western part of the Capital City Zone.Aesthetically the red brick wing is a good and relatively early example of the Queen Anne revival style as applied to a small scale store, in a style that would dominate local architecture after the turn of the century..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites HBPC CBD Area Study (79) PERROTT, LYON, TIMLOCK AND KESA 1976, C.B.D. STUDY, CITY OF MELBOURNE CONSERVATION STUDY AREA TWO, pp 183-8: lists owners from Old Law titles Charles Cleve as owner; was 106 Lt Lonsdale St west__________________________________________________PERROTT, LYON, TIMLOCK AND KESA 1976, C.B.D. STUDY, CITY OF MELBOURNE CONSERVATION STUDY AREA TWO, pp 183-84.09 523-5 Little Lonsdale Street.(No.106 Little Lonsdale Street.)DESCRIPTION:Stone (bluestone) store two levels (20' x 82 ') situated 50' from the Little Lonsdale Street frontage and having an'82' frontage to Wicklow Lane. (Plus a prick building, one (20' x 50') level replacing, what was formerly, an iron built store until 1899.SITE:20' x 132'BUILT:1854-5 (1)OWNER:Charles Cleve (1854-59) (2) (Merchant }Sigismund Steibel (1859--70)Samual SteibelHenry Raphael (Merchant) (1870-Sali Cleve (Merchant) (1885-9)Frederick Tate (Customs Agent) (1889-1902)OCCUPIERS:Cleve Brothers (1855-59) (4)Goodman, Teale and Co. (1859- (5)Teale Brothers (1866-71Edward Wrigley (free stores) (1889- (3) .Joseph Heymason (1895 and E. Wrigley (Free Stores)NOTES: (1) As derived from Old Law and Torrens Titles.(2) During Charles Cleve's ownership a memorial (44-702) described the building as follows: 'All that 2 storiedstone warehouse or building, measuring 20' x 82'. (December, 1855.)Charles Cleve married Miss Adel Stiebel; Sigismund Stiebel was Adel's father. Hence ownership till 1870 is virtuallyjoint ownership between the Cleve Brothers (Sali and Charles) and the Stiebel family.(3) Owned 105-9 William Street: Bonded stores backing , onto the above building.(4) Danial and Sali Cleve. The Cleve's major stores were situated at 112-4 Lonsdale Street, West. (Corner of King Street) (Directories: 1853-8)(5) Goodman, Teale and Co., during 1859, owned the large three storey stores in William Street (Nos.105-9) backing ontothe above. (Directory 1859).__________________________________________________CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS7/6/1854,1096 `stone and iron store' builder as Amess & McLaren, Melbourne/ Cleve Bros as owner, fee ₤1 for `stone and iron store' Little Lonsdale St West, near William St__________________________________________________City of Melbourne i-Heritage:Central Activities District Conservation Study - Graeme Butler, 1984 Building Identification Form (BIF): Alterations / Recommendations: Rear - one storey gone (inappropriate)__________________________________________________STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA COLLECTIONAC Cooke Melbourne panorama 1871:obscuredDe Gruchy & Leigh: 1866 Isometric shows store at rear of gabled front wing__________________________________________________VICTORIAN HERITAGE INVENTORY H7822-1138https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/9056Constructed 18544/5 as stone warehouse for merchant Charles Cleve. Occupied by Cleve Bros. 1850s; Goodman, Teale & Co., thence Teale Bros, 1860s. 1889-95, Edward Wrigley. (Apparently always used as a secondary storage facility).1866 map - building shown on site (adjacent to laneway).1880 - not clearly discernible, part of a cluster of buildings facing Little Lonsdale Street. Front brick section added c. 1899-1903 replacing iron stores.1905 - single storey building, Smith Fender Factory. 1930s - Fraters French Furniture Polishers.Heritage Inventory Significance: Surviving early stone warehouse in the CAD, still relatively intact.Archaeological Potential: Remnant Structure, Potential (area)__________________________________________________CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEW525 Little Lonsdale Street, 1901 (HO1062)Two co-joined former warehouses. Fronting Little Lonsdale Street is a red brick building designed in the Queen Anne style by Thomas Dall and built by Thomas McLean for Frederick Tate in 1901. To the rear is a single storey bluestone building built by Amess & McLaren for Charles Cleve as part of bond store complex around 1855. Refurbished and converted to restaurant in 1988..DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1870Metropolitan hotel (at William)Cleve's bonded store(108 Dunn)1875Dixon's tobacco store1893 525 Wrigley, E. B., furniture stores1904 523-525 Smith's Fender Factory—Smith, E., mgr1911 Smiths fender factory1920 Smith, Edward fender maker1930 FC Frater, French polisher1940 Milledge Bros., storage.
Related material link:
Names:
Topics:
Places:
Form/Genre:
Record types:
Research and reports
Record number:
1257922
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 106021 | 1JPEG : 580 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |