Residence

Parent Place or Precinct

26586 Central York Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

Residence, 12 Thorn Street is a good representative example of Victorian Georgian architectural style in the early Federation period. It represents associations with JH Monger snr who owned the property as part of Monger’s town and allocated Avon Location X (24 acres) to his son Stephen Monger as part of providing separate property for his four sons that didn’t get along. It is closely associated with the owner builders, Thorn, Bower and Stewart, with the street named after Thorn. Individually and together with the identical residence at 8 and similar at 14 Thorn Street, it makes a contribution to the historical townscape of York.

Physical Description

The residence is single storey with a simple hipped roof and separate skillion front veranda (not original) supported by square timber posts. The front wall evidences reverse tone (dichromatic) Flemish bond brickwork with the lower courses painted, and the side wall rendered. The symmetrical frontage has a central front door flanked by single double-hung sash windows. Two face brick corbelled chimneys are evident.

History

After York was opened for selection in 1830, the first settlers arrived in 1831 from the Swan River settlement with the task of establishing what was to be an unsuccessful Government Farm. By 1833 the Monger family moved to York, where J. H. Monger Snr. had established a hotel and store, and operated as a merchant for many pastoralists. J. H. Monger Snr. concentrated on his successful merchant business. Until the mid-1850s, J. H. Monger Snr. owned up to 36,000 hectares of freehold and leasehold land before being the first of the larger estates to be subdivided for closer settlement in the mid-1950s. J. H. Monger Snr. was known as the ‘Duke of York’, and competed with R. H. Bland in establishing town centres in York; Monger’s town and Blandstown.
John Henry (Snr) and Mary Monger had seven children; John Henry Jnr. (b.1831), Ann Elizabeth (b. & d.1833), Joseph Taylor (b.1834 d.1891), Stephen (b.1836 d.1907), Susannah (b.1839 d.1876), Herbert (b.1840 d.1920), and George (b.1842 d.1893). J. H. Monger Snr. established his four sons in business, although in different areas due to their inability to get along together. It is likely Avon Location X (24 acres) was Stephen Monger’s portion of his father’s allocation. The first Certificate of Title (CT) issued in September 1884 to Stephen Monger, noted him as a farmer of Stanton Springs. Location X was a rectangular section of land bounded by South Street to the north, and what is now Balladong Road to south, Avon River to east, and an arbitrary north/south boundary to west, at a juncture from Avon Terrace including the diagonal Avon Terrace. On 22 December 1884 three portions of Avon Location X were transferred to three different purchasers: Edward Keane, contractor of Guildford (1 acre), Robert Scott of Glen Avon (1 rood), and William Eaton, blacksmith of York (1 rood). It seems from the C.T. plan that the lots may have been in the southeast vicinity of the Avon Terrace and Stephen Street intersection. Stephen Monger transferred a further 1 rood lot to James Butterly of Youngedin, and, on 5 September 1888 12 acres 1 rood to Thomas Henry Thorn, Joseph Bower and Andrew John Stewart, all builders of York, as tenants in common. A further 2 roods were transferred to John Clarkson, in October 1891, 1 acre 1 rood to Joseph Askew Kenworthy in September 1898, 1 acre 1 rood George Noble Morse in May 1899, and Lots 7 and 8 to Joseph McKay in October 1905.
In 1896, Thorn, Bower and Stewart took out a mortgage of 1,500 pound to William Marwick snr (discharged in 1901). It is likely that the identical dwellings at Nos 8 and 12 were constructed by them at that time, in anticipation of the subdivision approval. On 10 March 1899, a Certificate of Title was issued for the subdivided site comprising 3 roods 23 perches bounded by Thorn Street to the west. On 7 March 1899, Thomas Henry Thorn died and probate was granted to Clarence Thorn as sole executor. The balance of the property (not the 3 roods and 23 perches) was acquired by Dalgety and Company Ltd in July 1901.
The Thorn Street site was numbered lots 1-4 in 1899 when John Barnard of Pearlers Rest Hotel in Shark Bay purchased lots 2 and 3 and sold both lots to Henry Smith, business manager of Thorn Street in 1918.
In 1927, part of lot 3 (No.8) was transferred to Mavis Elizabeth Mary Leighton, and lot 2 and north section of Lot 3 (No.12) was sold to Robert Nelson Carson Towell, labourer (later- draper) of Thorn Street. The property changes hands again in 1928 to William warren a labourer of Thorn Street, before Leslie Michael Ashworth, labourer, purchased in 1941, transferred to Charles William Ashworth, blacksmith in 1950, and to Charles Alexander Ashworth a famer of Thorn Street, in 1951. After the death of Charles A Ashworth in 1955, the executor; Philip Haden Sargent of Fairview (York), the property was transferred to widow, Gladys Rose Ashworth. After her death in 1981 there have been several owners.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High
Authenticity: Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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