House, 83 Bagot Rd, Subiaco

Parent Place or Precinct

27310 Park Street Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

For information on the significance of the Park Street Heritage Area refer to the Local Planning Policy for the Heritage Area.

Physical Description

Architectural style
83 Bagot Road features detailing derived from the Federation Queen Anne style. It was designed to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as professional men, office workers, retail employees and skilled tradesmen.
Plan form at the street frontage
• Asymmetrical facade.
• Projecting wing on the western side, featuring a rectangular window bay.
• Abutting verandah extending across the remainder of the frontage.
Roof form and materials
• Hipped-gable roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting.
• Prominent verge gable over the projecting wing, finished with rough-cast render and simple ‘half-timber’ detailing.
• Louvered gablets to the short E-W ridgeline.
• Face brick chimneys with contrasting rendered detailing.
• Decorative eaves panel to main façade, featuring rendered brackets alternating with leaf pattern button mouldings.
• Battened eaves.
• Raked verandah roof (possibly originally bull-nosed)
Wall materials and finishes to the main facade
• Panted brickwork (originally tuck-pointed face brick).
• Two rendered string-courses, one at about 1m and the other at above 2.1m above floor height.
Other detailing to main facade
• Parapet wall on the eastern side of the house.
• Timber verandah accessed by rendered steps.
• Central, 4-panel entrance door abutting the projecting wing. Traditional moulded architraves, highlight and narrow sidelights.
• Triple casement window set under a bullnose window hood to the projecting wing. This features highlights, a moulded projecting sill and decorative under-sill panel.
• Double hung window under the verandah. This features a matching moulded projecting sill and decorative under-sill panel.
• Turned timber verandah posts, curved timber brackets and timber frieze, the latter featuring slender balustrettes.
• Stone foundations.
Streetscape setting
• House set back approximately 4.6m from the Bagot Road frontage.
• Zero setback to the eastern boundary and narrow path along the western side of the house.
• Lot width approximately 10.1m.
• Front yard enclosed by a scalloped timber picket fence.

History

Subiaco's population increased significantly in the 1890s due to an economic depression in the eastern states and the discovery of gold in Western Australia. During the 1890s property developers bought large landholdings for subdivision in the Perth metropolitan area. The original subdivisions in Subiaco were generally simple grid pattern developments with small lots suitable for occupancy by working families. However, the more elevated parts of the suburb, particularly towards Kings Park, also attracted business and professional men and some lots were later amalgamated to accommodate their larger homes and gardens. Mixed development occurred and within the Park Street Heritage Area this ranged from narrow, single storey terrace housing through to a large 2-storey house set in spacious grounds. The readily available evidence indicates that the number of houses within this area increased from around 24 in 1901 to 72 in 1906; 86 in 1910; 92 in 1915, 94 in 1920 and 103 by 1925. Development then stabilised, with 106 houses and 1 block of flats identified in 1949.
Perth Suburban Lots 243 to 246 were subdivided as Deposited Plan 352 in the early 1890s. This comprised 141 lots of which Lot 42 was developed as 83 Bagot Road in c.1905. An analysis of the sequence of entries in the Post Office Directories suggests that 83 Bagot Road was first listed in 1906, when the primary occupant was identified as William Nicholls. It is therefore quite likely that this was the house which was under construction in January 1905:
TENDERS for 5-roomed Brick VILLA, Bagot-road, Labour only. Apply W. NICHOLAS
In the 1907-1908 Rate Books ‘Mrs Nicholas’ was identified as the owner, changing to Miss Clare Nicholas in 1917-1918. The readily available evidence suggests that the first owner was William’s wife, Margaret Jane Nicholas (nee Tonkin) (who died here in May 1916) and that the next owner was their daughter, Clare Adeline Nicholas (c.1880-?), who lived here in c.1917-1920 and still owned the property in 1935-1936. Clare appears to have sold the property in around the mid 1930s as in December 1938 a brief newspaper notice stated that the house had been sold on behalf of another owner, ‘H J Metcalf’.
In general, there was a high turnover of occupants until at least the mid-twentieth century, although members of the Lawn family lived here from c.1929-1933 and c.1935-1940. A review of the Post Office Directories at around 5-yearly intervals (together with reference to contemporary Electoral Rolls) indicates that some of the primary residents during this period included:
 1906: William Nicholas (plasterer)
 1910: Nicholas Nicholls (clerk)
 1915: Not listed in the Post Office Directory
 1920: Clare Nicholas
In the middle of this year, a newspaper notice identified a Mrs Dryman as the occupant and referred to the house as ‘Brougham Villa’.
 1925: Thomas Edwards (hairdresser)
 1930 & 1935: Ronald Herbert Lawn (clerk)
 1940 Esther Ellen Lawn
 1945: Frederick W Hawcroft
 1949: Hilda May Sabine
Entries in the Electoral Rolls suggest that members of the Sabine family were living here as early as 1943 (although they weren’t listed here in the Post Office Directories until 1949). Hilda was still listed at this address in the Electoral Rolls of 1958. By the early 1960s she had moved to Busselton.
An analysis of a historical Metropolitan Sewerage Plan (revised March 1954) and historical aerial photographs suggests that additions were undertaken at the rear of this house in the 1980s. The footprint of the front portion has remained relatively unchanged.

Integrity/Authenticity

The authenticity of the house within its streetscape setting has been reduced by the painting of the tuck-pointed brickwork. Other than this, the external detailing appears to be largely intact and/or sympathetically restored/renovated.

Condition

Based on a streetscape inspection the buildings appear to be in a good condition.

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.