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

11 Union Street is a late example of a Federation Queen Anne villa, with some detailing influenced by the Federation Bungalow style (such as the sweeping roofline) and some by the Federation Arts and Crafts style (such as the chimneys). Key elements include: Asymmetrical plan, with a stepped façade that addresses the intersection of Union and Redfern Streets. Tuck-pointed brickwork to the main façades. Gabled-hipped roof clad with red terracotta tiles and featuring traditional curved terracotta finials and terracotta ridge cresting. This roofline extends in a continuous, broken-back alignment over the deep corner verandah. Two tall tapered and rendered chimneys with simple geometric detailing to the caps. Two, prominent projecting wings, one facing Union Street on the northern side of the main façade and one facing Redfern Street at the western end of the return verandah. Each of these wings features a shallow rectangular window bay, which frames two (individual) double hung windows, set over a raked rendered sill and a splayed, rock-faced stone plinth. Each of the bay is shaded by a raked tiled awning, supported on robust, square profile, timber brackets. Flying gables to the projecting wings. Each of these gables has wide, battened, eaves extending over a bay window. The face of each gable is finished with roughcast render and decorated with a geometric pattern of vertical, horizontal and diagonal timber battens. Stepped façade between the projecting wings, creating a deep verandah area. The main entrance is located on the first setback, adjacent to the northern wing. This has an early inter-War style three panel, high waisted door, which is framed by highlights and high-waisted sidelights – all with stained glass panels with flower motifs. On the southern side of the entry vestibule the façade steps back a second time, as a plain face-brick wall. At the rear of the verandah, where it abuts the Redfern Street wing, there is a pair of French doors, also with flower motifs to stained glass panels. Corner verandah extending between the two projecting wings. This has paired timber posts with simple timber panels to the top and bottom of each pair and simple curved brackets. The house is set back approximately 6m from the front boundary. The front yard is defined by a scalloped timber fence, which has a gate at the street corner and returns partway along the Redfern Street frontage. Privacy is provided to the side and rear years by a high panel fence.

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 8 was transferred from James Chesters to Alice Maud O’Donnell on 28 October 1916. The Post Office Directories first listed Redmond O’Donnell (a linotypist) as living at this address in 1921, suggesting that the house was built for this couple in c.1920 (at about which time Redmond was working in the printing works of the Sunday Times). They had moved out by the mid-1920s and in the period 1925 to 1927 the Electoral Rolls and Post Office Directories suggests that the house was occupied by two couples, by the name of Edsall and Owen. The next owner was Thomas Stewart Pott, who had worked as a builder in Perth when he first migrated to Western Australia from England, constructing (amongst other buildings) the Congregational Church in Subiaco, before taking up farming in Kellerberrin. In 1925 Thomas Pott sold his Kellerberrin property, Marple Farm, and in April 1926 it was announced that Mr & Mrs Pott and their three daughters were leaving for England, and expected to be away for about eight months. Thomas had already taken their oldest child, Jack, on a six month holiday to England in 1923 and this time Jack remained home to attend the Narrogin Agricultural College. The family were still in England in January 1927, but had moved into 11 Union Street by April of that year (when Thomas registered a new car at this address). It is therefore possible that they had purchased 11 Union Street in anticipation of their return to Perth and had leased it out while they were away. Thomas and Hanna shared the house for some time with their daughters Alice (born 1913), Dorothy (1915) and Ula (1919) and in 1935 went on another extended world tour with Ula, visiting Great Britain, America and New Zealand. Throughout this time the Electoral Rolls continued to list Thomas as a farmer and it is not known what other business interests he might have had. Hannah died in November 1952, after which Thomas remained at 11 Union Street until the mid 1950s. Historical aerial photographs suggest that the house has undergone only minor alterations at the rear since its construction.

Condition

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

Uses

Creation Date

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