Casson House

Statement of Significance

Casson House is a fine example of an institutional building of the period in the Federation Arts and Craft style. It demonstrates the purpose designed buildings then developed for institutional purposes. The place increases the stylistic variety while maintaining the predominant material palette of the area.

Physical Description

The double storey face brick structure has a gable roof that is clad with tiles. The main street façade is symmetrical with a central ground floor recessed entry above which there is the name of the place applied to the wall, and a bracketed window box, window and decorative arched panel above the window that is infilled with herringbone patterned brickwork. The gable is further defined by an open pediment. The windows throughout are sets of two double hung sashes on concrete sills with louvred timber shutters. Medium height face brick wall with decorative geometric pattern along the top and pillars each side of the palisade gate. Extensive planting in setback gardens. None apparent

History

Woodville Street was originally named Parker Street, and was part of the Woodville Estate, a residential subdivision in North Perth developed on Swan Location 653 by Solomon Herman and Thomas Whitton Williams in 1898. The Woodville Estate was the second subdivision in the area and was in the triangle formed by Angove, Farmer and Parker Streets. The subject place is first listed in the Wise's Post Office Directories in 1912 as No. 2 Parker Street, with Thomas T. Baxter, builder, as the occupier. Joseph A. Thomson (J. & T. Ltd) is listed at No. 2 Parker Street from 1913 to 1914. In 1915, Parker Street changed its name to Woodville Street and thereafter the address of the subject place changed to No. 2 Woodville Street. The subject place at No. 2 Woodville Street was occupied by Nurse Carslaw at that year. Mrs. C. H. Carslaw (Bute Private Hospital) and Stephen Carslaw are listed at the subject place between 1916 and 1917. Between 1918 and 1934, Joseph A. Thomson, JP (J. & T. & Co Ltd) is again listed at the subject site. A Metropolitan Water Supply Sewerage & Drainage Department (MWSSD) Plan dated 1914 illustrates that the then No. 2 Parker Street accommodated a brick building with a verandah ran the full length of the street frontage. A verandah was located at the rear central of the building. A brick stable was located at the north east corner of the site boundary. In 1935, Mrs. Susan Adelaide Casson purchased the subject property at No. 2 Woodville Street and the property was named Woodville Rest Home. Susan Casson, who was born in 1872, was appointed by the Government in 1920 as a lay member of the Board of Visitors to Claremont Hospital. Susan Casson convinced the Board of the necessity for discharge and rehabilitation into the community of some of the patients and for this purpose instigated the foundation of the '˜Mental Hospital After Care and Comforts Fund Association Incorporated'. She purchased the subject property in 1935, with the help of the Lotteries Commission for the sum of $3,600. The subject property was later named Casson House after Susan Casson. Today, the main façade of the subject place still carry the name of Casson House. When first purchased, the subject property accommodated seven patients. With the increasing demands for the beds, the subject place undertook several alterations and additions. In 1935, a hatched portion was added to the existing kitchen. In 1938, a side verandah, made of wood, asbestos and iron, was erected to the west of the subject Rest Home. Eventually, the association purchased the adjoining properties at No. 8 and No. 10 Woodville Street for future expansion over the years. The Wise's Post Office Directories list the subject place as the After Care Rest Home in 1935 and the Rest Home in 1940, with Sister Moncrieff and Nurse L. Enright as the person in charge respectively. Since then, the subject place is listed as Nos. 2-8 Woodville Rest Home until 1949. In addition to this, the Directories also reveal that Susan Casson is listed as the proprietor at No. 25 View Street, North Perth, which was proximate to Casson House. Susan Casson was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1920 and was awarded the M.B.E. in 1949. In 1984, the name of the association was changed to Casson Homes Incorporated. At present, Casson Homes continues to operate under the guidance of a member of the Casson family. In 2008, Town of Vincent conditionally approved the planning application for proposed partial demolition of, and additions and alterations to the subject place.

Integrity/Authenticity

High

Uses

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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.