HOUSE, 7 TAYLOR STREET

Statement of Significance

House, 7 Taylor Street is a single storey brick, limestone and iron house dating from 1903. It has aesthetic value for its contribution to the streetscape and the surrounding area. It is representative of the typical building stock and of working people’s living conditions within the residential areas of Fremantle. The place is significant as a fine example of the Federation Queen Anne style of architecture.

Physical Description

House, 7 Taylor Street is a single storey brick, limestone and corrugated iron house. Walls are random course limestone to the sides with brick quoining, and tuck-pointed brick to the street. The Zincalume roof is hipped with a tall brick and rendered corbelled chimney. There is a faceted bay and a dropped verandah roof supported by decorative turned and chamfered timber posts. The door has side lights, and probably top lights but vegetation makes further description difficult. Windows are not visible. There is a scalloped timber picket fence to the front boundary.

History

7 Taylor Street was erected in 1903-04 for Ernest Laurence. From 1912 it was occupied by James Joseph O'Hara (d. 1937), a well-known thoroughbred breeder. He had a training ground and stables on the other side of Taylor Street. After his death, Cyril J O’Hara and Mrs M O’Hara lived there and operated the stables and horse training. They remain at No. 7 until at least 1949 when PO Directory records cease. The 1947 aerial photograph (Landgate) shows the training grounds and a large expanse of vacant land on the east side of Taylor Street near Samson Street, with what may be a series of stable buildings to the south near South Street. No 7 is a large house, compared to the adjacent No. 3 (now relocated to No. 5) and 1, which are smaller cottages. The 1950 sewerage map (No. 2190) shows the bay window frontage and front verandah, and what appears to be a limestone wall along the front boundary. To the rear are attached asbestos rooms (kitchen, laundry, bathroom). There is a free-standing garage towards the rear of the lot. The 1965 aerial photograph (Landgate) shows that the horse training ground and stables have been redeveloped and the area is all residential. In 1985, the owners made an application to Council to build a carport and a garage. Later aerial photos (Landgate) show that around 1985 the rear of the house was altered and appears to have been reroofed or at least repainted, as it formerly had a red roof. By 1999 the house had undergone further development, and a large extension with hipped and gabled roof was built to the rear, as well as a carport erected on the north side of the house. This place was added to the Heritage List and the Municipal Heritage Inventory on 10 January 2018.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update