House

Parent Place or Precinct

25394 Union and Redfern Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

For information on the significance of the Union and Redfern Heritage Area refer to the Local Planning Policy for the Heritage Area.

Physical Description

15 Union Street was designed as a late example of a Federation Bungalow. The high quality design and detailing of the principal facades exemplifies the work of the builder and owner, William Bushell. Key elements include: Asymmetrical plan, laid out around a corner verandah. Large simple roof planes with prominent gables to the street frontages. Terracotta roof tiles, with decorative terracotta cresting and dragon finials. Wide battened eaves to the gables and exposed rafters to the eaves above the main walls. Large gable to the main (Union Street) frontage, forming the primary roofscape element. This has a rough cast rendered face and a central triple window – the latter replacing an earlier triple louvered opening. Smaller flying gable over a rectangular window bay on the northern (Redfern Street) frontage. This features deep, battened eaves, a roughcast rendered face finished with vertical timber battens. Behind this gable, there is a second, higher gable rising from the hipped roof. This is a later (matching) detail, which replaced a smaller ridge gablet and provided height and windows for a second storey room. Tall chimneys, with an elegant combination of roughcast render, plain render and face brick detailing, capped by tapered terracotta pots. Tuck-pointed brickwork to door head height, with rough cast render over. This features a projecting string course at the top of the brickwork and bull-nosed bricks to the corners of the main facades (including the door and window reveals) – an elegant and high quality detail. Contrasting rock-faced stone detailing to the foundations, the plinth of the bay window facing Redfern Street and the verandah piers. Deep verandah extending across the Union Street façade and returning partway along the Redfern Street facade. The roof of the verandah extends in a continuous, broken-back alignment from the main roofline. It is supported on pairs of slender ‘Doric’ columns, which are in turn supported on robust stone piers. Varied fenestration and doors (the majority of which have leadlight glazing – either plain or with insets representing the flowers and leaves of irises). The main entrance is located at the western end of the verandah along the Redfern Street façade. This has a low-waisted door framed by highlights and sidelights. The only other door opening onto the verandah is a pair of French doors, near the southern end of the Union Street façade. The second opening to the Union Street façade has a bank of four tall, slender casement windows, set within a plain rectangular opening (extending up into the roughcast rendered walling). Like all of the other windows this has a rendered projecting sill. This window detail is repeated in another bank of four casements to the west of the window bay on the Redfern Street façade. On the northern wall of the return verandah there is only one small opening, which features a pair of high-level, square casement windows. The window to the side of the entry vestibule (immediately west of the verandah) has a single casement window with a moulded, smooth rendered frame where the window extends through the roughcast rendered walling. The height, proportions and window head detail of this opening are different to the other windows, but the design is unified by the matching sill. To the west of this, the rectangular bay window under the northern gable has a bank of four slender casements to the front and is boxed out with a single slender casement window on either side. This is shaded by a very deep, hipped awning supported on robust timber brackets. It has a simple rendered sill and is set over a rock-faced stone plinth. The house is set back approximately 6m from the front boundary, which is defined by a low brick wall with low brick piers. Both of these elements have rendered caps and are linked by low, open panels of traditional spear topped metal bars. The entry gate addresses the north-eastern corner of the site and the fence then returns partway along the northern boundary, before rising up to a high brick fence around the rear yard. A side gate and two garage doors open through the high brick fence towards the rear of the site.

History

Perth Suburban Lot 255 was purchased by the Intercolonial Investment Land and Building Company Ltd of Sydney in August 1890. Two years later it was transferred to James Chesters of 155 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, estate agent, and by 1894 Chesters had subdivided this land as Deposited Plan 899, with 42 lots laid out around Queen Street (soon renamed Union Street). The allotments to the west of Union Street were numbered 1 to 21, with four of these facing Hamersley Road (Lots 1 to 4) and four facing Heytesbury Road (Lots 18 to 21). An early subdivision plan showed 13 lots facing Queen Street but, prior to sale, these were re-subdivided as nine slightly wider lots (Lots 5 to 13 on Diagram 4432). Lot 10 was transferred from James Chesters to William Bushell in 1916. At that time Bushell was listed as a builder of 16 Union Street (which he had constructed in c.1913). William moved at least once more before constructing a new home at 15 Union Street for himself and his wife, Zildahe. Following its completion this house was featured in the Sunday Times of 2 November 1924, and it would have stood as a testament to his skill as a builder. Bushell’s next private development was at 168-170 Townshend Road (constructed c.1931), where he was still living at the time of his death in 1951. Newspaper notices and advertisements confirm that Bushell was active in residential building development in Subiaco until the late 1920s, after which he appears to have specialised in alterations and additions. For example: NOTICE —PROPERTY OWNERS. — For Alterations, Additions and Repairs 'Phone W. J. BUSHELL and CO., Builders and Contractors, 15 Union-street, Subiaco. A permanent staff of competent Carpenters, Plumbers, Bricklayers, Plasterers, Painters, etc, always available for Jobs, big or small. 'Phone and I will call. 22 years of practical experience in building trade, in Perth and suburbs. (1933) From 1934 until about 1945, 15 Union Street was occupied by Charles Edwards (a pastry chef) and his wife, Jane, who shared the house for at least part of this time with their adult son, Kenneth. After that the occupants had changed at least twice by the mid 1950s and in 1954 a furnished room in the house was being advertised for rent: FURN. Room, use cons., suit working couple or two girls or will consider boarding latter, handy tram and bus. 15 Union-st. Subiaco.

Integrity/Authenticity

The external streetscape character, finishes and detailing of this place are largely consistent with its original design (noting that the original roof has been sympathetically modified as part of the adaptation of attic spaces as second floor rooms) Note: The place as some historical significance as an excellent example of the work of local builder, William Bushell, and as his own home from c.1925-1933.

Condition

Based on a streetscape inspection the building appears to be in a good condition.

Uses

Creation Date

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