Tait's house, formerly part Emerald Cottages, 132-134 Roden Street, West Melbourne
Graeme Butler and AssociatesJul-91
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Tait's house, formerly part Emerald Cottages, 132-134 Roden Street, West Melbourne
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Date of work:
Jul-91
Reference number:
108376
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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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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GRAEME BUTLER 1983, CONSERVATION STUDY FOR THE CITY OF MELBOURNE OF NORTH AND WEST MELBOURNEGrading s at 1991, 2015 : DPeriod : Mid Victorian (1876)Grantee : G Worcester 1856History - Robert Tait had owned a smaller building on this site before this house was built in 1877 as part of a row. He continued to own and reside there until after 1895.Description - A two-storey, parapeted, stuccoed brick house with a two-levelcast-iron verandah, front fence and scrolled arch-shape parapet entablature.The house is double-fronted, possessing an asymmetrically placed column under thelong-span bressumer, presumably one of two originally there. Ornament includespaired brackets at the verandah side walls and the- iron is of an early pattern.Integrity - Generally original except for parapet urns/orbs.Streetscape - Isolated building.Significance - Architecturally, an early and large example of a common type, with some unusual details (compare 175 Hotham Street, East Melbourne for combined columns and iron) of local importance.Historically, owned and occupied for a long period by its developer - now the last one of the row: of local interest.Recommendations -Repaint in original or typical colours;replace parapet urns/orbs;consider zoning provisions to preserve original use and form;consider replacement of missing column..References:(RB= Rate book; D= Melbourne or Victoria Directory)RB 1877, 2381; RB 1896-97 , 2861___________________________GRAEME BUTLER & ASSOCIATES, 2015. WEST MELBOURNE HERITAGE REVIEWWhat is significant?Shipwright, Robert Tait had owned a number of smaller houses on and adjoining this site well before this house was built in 1877. The house was one of six houses in what was to be a long residential row in this part of Roden Street by the 1890s. He continued to own and reside there with his wife Isabella until his death in 1897. Tait was a member of local community groups such as the Australian Natives' Association.Contributory elements include:a two-storey, parapeted, stuccoed brick row house;cemented Italian Renaissance Revival ornament of a cornice and scrolls to a raised, arched parapet entablature, including paired brackets and foliated blocks at the verandah side walls;a two-level cast-iron verandah with panelled friezes and brackets, iron of an early pattern;double-hung sash windows, four-panel door and toplight; anda distinctive asymmetrically placed masonry arch under the long-span bressumer (see King Street design by Frederick Stones).Generally original except for missing parapet urns or orbs; the iron front fence as a related addition; chimney removal and side wall rendering where exposed by demolition.How is it significant?Tait's house, formerly part Emerald Cottages, 132-142 Roden Street is significant historically and aesthetically to West Melbourne.Why is it significant?Tait's house, formerly part Emerald Cottages, 132-142 Roden Street is significant.Aesthetically, an early and large example of a common West Melbourne row house type, with some unusual details; andHistorically, representative of a major growth period (Victorian-era) in West Melbourne also, along with adjoining houses, owned and occupied for a long period by its developer, Tait, but now the last one of his house row to survive being his own residence. Also closely linked with Tait, a shipwright, and hence representative of the special transport occupational associations in West Melbourne.
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Record number:
1619942
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 108376 | 1 PDF : 903 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |