Brittania Hotel

Parent Place or Precinct

19925 William Street Conservation Area

Values

• The place has landmark value due to massing and prominent corner location on a busy street in Northbridge.
• The place is a good example of the Federation Free architectural style and is highly decorative due to its being constructed in a period of economic prosperity following the gold rush.
• The place reflects the expansion and development of commerce and trade in the City of Perth in the early years of the 20th century.

Physical Description

The Brittania Hotel is a three-storey brick former residential hotel constructed in the Federation Free style. It has a prominent cylindrical corner tower with a conical shingled roof. The roof is corrugated iron. The façade is articulated by aedicular windows. The ground floor is heavily modified to accommodate shops.
The original verandah has been removed and the rear of the building has also been altered.

History

Before the Gold rush period of the 1890s, the Northbridge area mainly consisted of market gardening land use with a few workers cottages up until the 1880s.However, with the push from farmers to drain more land and provide more roads for more effective market gardening, combined with the opening of the Guilford to Fremantle railway in the late 1880s the area north of the city gradually became more attractive to businesses and property investors.
It was not until the huge economic growth and population increase due to the gold discoveries in the Murchison and then Kalgoorlie regions that lead to the redevelopment of the Northbridge area. The increased demand for accommodation close to the city sparked a significant increase in land purchase and subdivision by property speculators. Property owners developed residential and commercial properties often for rental purposes. The resulting area was a mixture of land use and social class. Tradespeople, shopkeepers, workers and the upper class, all occupied Northbridge. There was a large variety of commercial and light industry such as grocers, butchers, chemists, laundries, bakeries, cabinetmakers and stables. Most residences were modest, although there were a few grander homes, often built for the property owners themselves.
With the opening of the tram in 1899 in Perth wealthy residents moved to the new suburbs leaving the Northbridge area home to residents of lower socio-economic status, often migrants. In later years the area continued to attract migrants, with many of these continuing to establish commercial enterprises.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity- Low
Authenticity- Moderate

Condition

Sound

Uses

Historic Themes

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.