Joseph Chester's Cottage

Statement of Significance

Joseph Chester’s Cottage is rare, being one of the oldest surviving houses in the town. It was constructed in the style and pattern most prevalent for modest houses in the Late Colonial period. Joseph Chester was a radical figure of his day, promoting the role of working men in the Mechanics Institute. It also has associations with other prominent people.

Physical Description

A single storey brick and iron house to which a two storey addition was added to the rear circa 1929. This wide fronted house is symmetrically ordered with symmetrical chimneys protruding from the ridge of the large hipped roof. Wooden shingle roof is thought to still exist underneath the iron roof. The front façade has a wide verandah covered with a low pitched skillion, punctuated with a gabled central porch set on paired posts. The verandah has a rendered balustrade, which was a common detail when the house was set very close to the street boundary. In 2004 a new roof was given to the single and double storey addition, and original shingles were located insitu in the process.

History

Joseph Chester's Cottage is one of the oldest places remaining in the Town of Vincent. It appears on the 1884 City of Perth Rate Books, the earliest surviving rate records for the city. It is recorded as being owned and occupied by Joseph Chester. Chester was born in England in 1807 and migrated to WA in 1848 with his second wife, Susannah and two of his five children. Chester was an upholsterer and cabinet maker who was active in the Swan River Mechanics' Institute, established in 1851. He was a radical of his time who believed that workingmen should be able to decide the course of their own lives and not be subject to the control of the gentry. He wanted the lectures at the Mechanics' Institute to be delivered by the working men themselves, on topics of their own choosing, and not by gentlemen who spoke on poetry, British liberty and ecclesiastical architecture. Chester ran a discussion group, choosing subjects which were often critical of British politics and society. The gentry did their best to close these down, as they considered them to be divisive and to impede the growth of harmony and brotherly love. They eventually succeeded so that, by 1875, the Mechanic's Institute had become a literary and entertainment society for the elite. At that time, more books were borrowed by the gentry women of Perth than by the working men for whom the Institute had been founded. During the mid 1860s, Joseph Chester spent some time as a publican in Guildford before returning to Perth. In 1867, he was advertising his workshop in Hay Street. As well as upholstery and cabinet making, he also advertised his services to hang wallpaper, make Venetian blinds and resilk pianofortes. Joseph Chester died in 1886. From 1885, the Cottage had a number of owners and occupants, including investor James Graves, who sold off the remaining vacant portion of Lot W104. Alexander Forrest, in his capacity as a financial agent and provider of mortgages, owned the property on two brief occasions when the current owner could not meet the mortgage repayments. From 1895 to 1904, the Cottage was owned by Mrs Elizabeth Thompson, and then by Phillip Keane until 1924, before it was finally purchased in 1929 by James Collins. Collins added a two-storey addition to the rear of the cottage, comprising thirty-seven rooms, five bathrooms and a laundry. The place appears on the MWSSDD sewerage plans of 1951 as more than three times its original length. The rear verandahs of the extension were later enclosed with weatherboards to create three more rooms. Two rooms in the two-storey extension have been altered for use as kitchens. Joseph Chester's Cottage and extension has been occupied as a boarding house since 1929, and continues to be owned by the Collins family.

Integrity/Authenticity

High, excluding additions

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.