Edward Fitzsimmons' shop and dwelling, later Colonial Survey Office also Temperance Hotel, 556-558 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Title:
Edward Fitzsimmons' shop and dwelling, later Colonial Survey Office also Temperance Hotel, 556-558 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 105724
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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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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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________Period: Early VictorianDATE: 1855;ASSOCIATIONS: Edward Fitzsimmons;DESIGNER: Unknown;BUILDER: Mitchell & ThomsonNotable features: 1. Attic & shopfront typical of early examples. 2. Brick house footings were visible.VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER H0441What is significant?In 1851 a house, shop and bakehouse occupied this site in Lonsdale Street. It appears to have been used as a bakery until 1855 when an application was made to build on the site, and the front section of this building was constructed for Edward Fitz Simmons. This seven room brick building was initially occupied by the government as a Survey Office and was subsequently used by a general merchant, and then used as a boarding house and temperance hotel (the latter evidenced by a painted sign which survives on an exterior side wall). The present shop window and second entrance were added at a later date, probably when it was first used as a shop in 1859. A single storey wing was added to the rear, possibly in the period from 1878-81, when it was in use as an hotel. Footing remnants of the original baker's oven survive to the rear of the building and other remnants of the original building may remain.The building is of two storeys with an attic storey and a single storey wing at the rear.This early Victorian building has a simple symmetrical facade, with three rectangular paned windows at first floor level and a central shop front, flanked by two entrances at ground level. Decoration is confined to four pilasters and consoles, the latter on the fascia between the levels, and these define the doorways below. Two dormer windows are placed in the roof to provide light at attic level.How is it significant?The premises at 556-558 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne are of architectural and historical significance to the State of Victoria.Why is it significant?The premises are of architectural significance as an illustrative example of a shop/house in 1850s Melbourne. Although not completely authentic, the scale and form of the building, and some of the interior spaces, are indicative of this early period. The shop window is probably amongst the earlier examples of its type.The premises at 556-558 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne are of historical significance as one of the older surviving buildings in central Melbourne. This building appears to be one of the few in Melbourne, which remain largely intact from the 1850s.[Online Data Upgrade Project 2005].GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 79 Perrott Lyon Timlock and Kesa, Historical and Architectural Survey Area 2: 170-;.PERROTT, LYON, TIMLOCK AND KESA 1976, C.B.D. STUDY, CITY OF MELBOURNE CONSERVATION STUDY AREA TWO: 170-(project manager: Graeme Butler )556-8 LONSDALE STREET(No. 143 Lonsdale Street, 1857-90)(No. 145 Lonsdale Street, 1851-6 )DESCRIPTION: Brick building of Ground, First and Attic Floor Levels, seven rooms, kitchen andBakehouse; Ground Floor, front room possesses shop windows.SITE: 22' x 101'(1866 : 20 x 100, 1872 – 1894:. 24' x 80'BUILT: 1855OWNER: Edward Fitzsimmons ( ... 1862-94 .. )OCCUPIERS:Hugh M'Cahill (Baker) 1851-William Kay (Baker, 1854)Alfred Price (Baker, 1855)Her Majesty's Govt. (Survey Office) (1856-Denominational Board of Education (1857-Joseph Marks (General Merchant) (1859-62)Isaac Everett (Boarding House) (1863-Thomas Ellis (Temperance Hotel) (1880-88)Pat Lennon (Boarding House) (…1894).NOTES: (1) Ratebook 1862, commencement of Owner listing.(2) Ratebook 1851, description : house, shop and one room plus Bakehouse.(3) Ratebook 1855 Frederick Long, occupier of '145 Lonsdale Street': description a small shop, one room (no bakehouse)Directories 1854: Will Kay is the occupier of 145 Lonsdale Street. (Listed first east of Independent Chapel)Directory1853 : lists Henry Williams, carpenter, at 145 Lonsdale Street.Shown as is in plan form on Bibbs Map of Melbourne (1856).Notated 'Colonial Engineers Office'.(5) Directory 1857Ratebook 1857 gives H.M. Govt. as the occupier(6) J. Marks first given in Directories, 1861.(7) Ratebook 1880: description – brick house, twelve rooms.Directory 1877: last listing for the Congregational Church (or Independent Church), next allotmentto the west. Hughes and Harvey (Tinsmiths) occupied the church after this date.EXISTING CONDITIONS:FACADE compared with a view of the building in panorama of Melbourne (1870), the facade seems unaltered except for the possible addition of brackets on each portal and the relocation of the roof-gutter downpipe from the side of the building to the facade. (Probably when Henderson House was constructed) .The shop window joinery appears to be substantially original, concurrent with the buildings use as a shop and a tavern (estimated as 1859 onwards); the two doorways also concur with these uses. One doorway leads into a passage communicating with the residential section of the building, the upstairs, whilst the other is the shop or tavern entrance with a communicating room behind.A fire brigade plaque, for the 'Colonial' Insurance Company is located on the upper facade.Odd details, such as door finish and door furniture are unoriginal plus other decoration features.The roof is likely to have been slate.INTERIOR:Simple interiors, plain architraves and skirtings and quite low door heights (6'6"). The interior has undergone general renovations of a superficial nature (wall papering etc.).The stairway is suitably tortuous, with low head heights and a stringer crossover on one of the rear windows; the balustrading has been altered; the railing has been cut to accommodate cast iron panel balusters.A dado of pine lining is used on the stairway and part of the upper floors; the attic floor being also part lined with pine.OUTBUILDINGS:Communication to the rear is via a doorway, originally having a fanlight but now bricked in to form a square door head.The 'Bakehouse' remains in the form of the footings to the oven. The bricks used in the oven footings and the rear wall of the main building are identical, viz. a very early 'hand-made' brick exhibiting very crumbly substance of a strong red colour.Further outbuildings occur on the east boundary; they follow generally the plan-shape seen on Bibbs Map (1856) and subsequent maps.TITLE INFORMATION:(Relating to part of Allotment 3, Section 31).May 1850 Foster Fyans of Geelong conveyed the part of the allotment to Samuel Bryant he in turn sold it to Edward Fitzsimmons and John Wollaston for ₤100.May 1855 Fyans, Fitzsimmons and Arthur Charlwood exchanged mutual rights to construct a party wall, specifically on the east boundary of the allotment. (Fyans owns the property to the east).Memorial (32-480) states a reference to any building Fitzsimmons may wish to erect specifically a wall `…in direct alignment from the south end of the wall so already erected by the said Charlwood to Great Lonsdale Street of like description, width and height and of similar materials as such wall already built.From this Memorial and the Ratebook for 1856 it may be deduced that Edward Fitzsimmons built the existing building during the latter part of 1855. However, it is likely that the Bakehouse and some simpler form of dwelling was there previous to this date. However, still there remains the marked similarity of the bricks in the Bakehouse footings to those in the rear wall of the existing building.ILLUSTRATIONSA.PANORAMIC VIEW FROM SOUTH. (1871)B.WINDOWS ON STAIRCASE.C.VIEW OF REAR WALL AND OUT-BUILDINGS, FROM THE WEST.ARCHITECTURAL IMPORTANCEThe building is of the extremely simple idiom of 'Colonial Architecture'; the upper floors are unadorned,. the ground floor shop glazing and doorways are symmetrical. The only intrusion to the facade is the cross-sectional exposure of the gabled parapet moulding on the west end of the main parapet line, and the strange termination of the applied timber cornice mouldings some inches before the end of their relative facades.The 'design' used here has associations with the very early Colonial 'styles' and, as such, achieves importance beyond its own identified age. It is a remnant of what we imagine to be the earliest forms of architectural style, beyond the slab hut, in the Colony of Port Phillip. The interior, too, possesses the scale of the 'very old': the attics and the steep stair access to them.It is therefore of great historical and architectural importance.__________________________________________________LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX: Record75575 Fitz Simons, - Melbourne VIC Houses; Shops Mitchell & Thomson - Melbourne 1855 05 17 541, MCC registration no 541 [Burchett Index]. Fee 2.10.0 shop & dwelling, Lonsdale - between King & William__________________________________________________City of Melbourne online maps 2016Nick's Spaghetti Bar:A three storey brick former residence and shop. Built by Edward Fitzsimmons in 1855. Converted to a warehouse in 1961. Converted to a restaurant in 1981. Refurbished in 1994.__________________________________________________VICTORIAN HERITAGE INVENTORY1866 - building on site (adjacent to Independent Church).1871 & 1880 Panoramas show 2 storey building.1905 - 2 storey building__________________________________________________HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY FOR PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT 1987 CITY OF MELBOURNE CENTRAL CITY NOTABLE BUILDINGS CITATIONSA two-storey (plus attic) shop and residence built in 1855 by Edward Fitzsimmons. In 1856 it was used as the Colonial Survey Office and later as a hotel. It is a rare and significant survivor of the gold rush era of Melbourne.__________________________________________________NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA (VIC)A pleasantly proportioned building of a type now very rare in the central city area. Defacements noted are removal of verandah and chimneys and modification of dormers.Classification: 'Local' 29/04/1971Revised: 03/08/1998__________________________________________________NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)1854https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4799238LONSDALE WARDTo Mr. MICHAEL GALLAGHER. Sir, We, the undersigned Citizens of Lonsdale Ward, respectfully request that you will permit yourself to ill-placed In nomination at the forthcoming election In November next for the office of City Councillor for this Ward. Your past career in the City Council, uninfluenced by any party, and your long residence amongst us has afforded us every opportunity of judging of your qualifications, and we pledge ourselves, in the event of your acceding to our request, to use our best exertions to secure your election.Edward FitzsimmonsJames W. Norton etc1882https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11550931LAW REPORT. SUPREME COURT. OLD COURT-HOUSE.-THURSDAY, Aug. 24.SITTINGS IN EQUITY.(Before His Honour Mr. Justice Molesworth,)PROBATES AND LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION.Probates were granted to the wills of the following -Edward Fitzsimmons, £14,700,on the motion of Mr. T. P. Webb,...__________________________________________________ANCESTRY.COM.AUhttps://www.ancestry.com.au/family-tree/person/tree/78634781/person/32393202991Edward FITZSIMONS was born in 1800 in Meath. He married Bridget CURTIN on 20 September 1840 in Melbourne, Victoria. They had five children during their marriage. He died on 4 August 1882 in Melbourne, Victoria, having lived a long life of 82 years, and was buried in Fawkner, Victoria.
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
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| Original | 105724 | 1 PDF : 1,140 KB ; A5 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |