House

Parent Place or Precinct

25912 Kings Road Heritage Area, Subiaco

Statement of Significance

The place has cultural heritage significance:
• As a good representative example of the many 4-5 room brick homes which were built in Subiaco during the early twentieth century to meet the needs and aspirations of middle-class residents such as public servants, senior office workers, small business owners, skilled tradesmen and single/widowed women of private means.
• As a good representative example of the application of materials and detailing which were derived from the Federation Queen Anne style, but which were applied in a more restrained manner that suited the budgets and expectations of the middle classes in Subiaco during the early twentieth century.
• For its aesthetic contribution to a largely intact group of early twentieth century houses.
• For its association with the rapid development of Subiaco in the early 20th century and the small scale development by local builders, in this instance Charles de Gruchy.

Kings Road is of cultural heritage significance within the City of Subiaco for the following reasons:
• The existing development along Kings Road continues to represent the rapid development of the higher parts of Subiaco (near Kings Park) with good quality Federation Queen Anne houses during the early the twentieth century (with a particular focus on the c.1901-1914 period).
• The defined period and nature of development along Kings Road resulted in a complementary palette of materials and design idioms, enlivened by a diversity of individual details. Unlike many other local streets, the majority of the properties have retained a medium to high level of authenticity. Collectively they provide a good representative collection of middle-class Subiaco houses dating from the early twentieth century (extending from c.1901-1923).
• The character of the Kings Road streetscape epitomizes the general character of what is now known as the City of Subiaco’s Triangle Precinct.
• The history of the houses along Kings Road helps to demonstrate the original settlement of this part of Subiaco as a solid middle class area, in which the family residences of more senior white-collar workers existed side by side with the smaller, but still well-built, houses of more junior white-collar workers, retail employees and tradespeople.
• The history of the subdivision and early sale of residential lots along Kings Road helps to illustrate the status of Western Australia as a place of opportunity during the gold rush era of the late nineteenth century – attracting significant interest and investment from the eastern states.

Physical Description

Architectural style
• Federation Queen Anne.
This is of a scale and form typical of a well-built (but not ornate) suburban villa of the era.
Plan form at the street frontage
• Generally symmetrical façade.
• Parapet wall along the southern boundary.
• Prominent central wing with a verandah across the front and returning along both sides to abut the wider rear part of the house.
• Slightly projecting rectangular window bay at the centre front of the projecting wing.
Roof form and materials
• Gable-hipped roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting.
• Prominent gable at the face of the projecting central wing.
• Dropped, bull-nose verandah roof.
• Painted brick (originally face-brick) chimney, with a rendered plinth and rendered projecting cap.
Wall materials and finishes to the main facade
• Tuck-pointed face-brick walls.
These feature two imitation stringcourses, each formed by a painted finish to 3 courses of brick.
Detailing of main façade
• Central gable finished with a roughcast render, in-laid with a simple pattern of vertical, horizontal and diagonal timber battens.
• Turned timber finial to the gable end.
• Two, full-height double-hung windows to the front of the projecting wing.
• Main entrance door set on the northern side of the projecting wing, at the rear of the return verandah.
• Full-height double-hung window at the rear of the northern return verandah (facing west).
• Secondary entrance door at the rear of the southern return verandah (facing west).
• Turned timber posts and carved timber brackets to the verandah.
Streetscape setting
• Front verandah set back approximately 2.5m from the front boundary.
• Front boundary defined by a modern scalloped timber picket fence.

History

This part of Subiaco had been laid out as a residential subdivision by September 1891, but there was only one resident listed along the street in the Western Australian Post Office Directory of 1901 (referring to Park Street) and 2 in 1905 (referring to King’s Road). This was followed by a rapid period of development and by 1910 there were 14 houses within the Study Area, being 73 Bagot Road (now known as 3 Kings Road), #s 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21 Kings Road, 12 Hamersley Road (now 28 Kings Road) & 14 Hamersley Road (now 25 Kings Road). Steady infill continued after that time and the street was fully developed by the mid 1920s.
An analysis of information in the Rate Books indicates that 14 Kings Road was developed by J. E. Woods in c.1907, together with 16 Kings Road, which he also owned. It also suggests that the first occupant of #14 was Charles De Gruchy, contractor.
Charles De Gruchy (c.1864-1919) was born in the Channel Islands and migrated to Australia as an assisted immigrant in 1885 (at which time his occupation was given as joiner/carpenter). By 1902 De Gruchy was working as a building contractor and in 1903 to 1919 was listed in the Post Office Directory under the category Builders & Contractors, with premises at various locations in Subiaco. During this time, De Gruchy advertised at least four houses for sale, suggesting that he undertook at least some work as a builder/developer.
The following advertisements confirm that De Gruchy was working in Kings Road in 1906 and 1908, but do not specify the lot or street numbers:
PAINTERS.-improver, good, wanted De Gruchy's job, Kings-rd., Subiaco. (Aug 1906)
and
PAINTERS and Plasterers wanted. Apply on job, job, Kings-rd., Subiaco. C De Gruchy, contractor. (Aug 1908)
Note: The original detailing of 12 and 16 Kings Road appears to have been the same or very similar, and both were built in c.1907, although an analysis of information in the Rate Books indicates that 12 Kings Road was developed for Mrs Martha Gibson. It is therefore possible that Charles De Gruchy was involved in the construction of the three houses at 12, 14 & 16 Kings Road in c.1906-1908, either as a contract builder or as a builder/developer.
In c.1912/13 ownership of 14 Kings Road was transferred to Mrs Alice Allen who lived here until c.1928 and retained the property until at least 1929/30. Online family trees and newspaper notices suggest that this was the Alice Hooper Aitken (c.1864-1944) who had married James Bernard Allen in South Australian in 1898 and was widowed in 1912 (at which time James had been employed as the Director of Technical Education at the Perth Technical School). This couple had at 4 children: Ruth (born c.1900); Maxwell (c.1902); Clabon (c.1904); and Karl (c.1906), all of whom would have lived for some time at 14 Kings Road. Alice and James’ youngest son, Karl, was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship in 1926, and his departure for England was preceded by a gathering of family and friends at 14 Kings Road in July of that year.
The next long-term occupant was Mrs Elizabeth Cairns, who lived here from c. 1933 until at least 1963.
Reference to an inter-war era Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Department plan, plus a review of historical aerial photographs dating from 1964 and 2016, indicates that the building envelope of the front part of the house has remained largely unchanged, although major additions were undertaken at the rear at some stage in the period 1985-1995.
An analysis of the readily available information suggests that the primary occupants of the property from its time of construction until c.1963 included:
1908 Charles De Gruchy, contractor
1909 John E Polak, builder, and Louisa Ann Polak, home duties
1910 Charles De Gruchy, carpenter/builder
1910-1912 William L Stokes
1913-1928 Mrs Alice Hooper Allen, married woman
1929-1930 Horace John Minors
1931-1932 Harold Leonard Digby, clerk, and Nelmore Alice Digby, married woman
1933-c.1963 Mrs Elizabeth Cairns, home duties
Sharing the house with Patrick James Kingston Cairns, journalist, prior to his marriage in c.1938

Integrity/Authenticity

High to medium authenticity
The painting of two sections of the face-brick façade to represent traditional rendered stringcourses is not an original detail.

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.