House

Parent Place or Precinct

26002 Kershaw Street Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

The Kershaw Street Heritage Area is of cultural heritage significance within the City of Subiaco for the following reasons: • As an aesthetically pleasing streetscape with a strong heritage character, featuring a narrow avenue of mature street trees, which frame views of the largely intact Federation and early Inter-War vials. • For its retention of many good, representative examples of Federation Queen Anne villas (which collectively illustrate a gradual evolution in architectural detailing between 1904 and c.1918). • For the cohesive streetscape created by a limited palette of materials and styles. • As a representative collection of houses that illustrate the scale and standard of housing considered appropriate for the families of professional men, such as merchants, bankers and civil servants in the early twentieth century. • For the evidence it provides about the manner in which the residences of senior professional men and business owners existed side by side with the smaller residences of more junior employees in early twentieth century Subiaco. • For its association with the subdivision of this area by James Chesters, an investor from Melbourne, in 1892. In this context it also represents the status of Western Australia as a place of opportunity during the gold rush era of the late nineteenth century – attracting significant investment from the eastern states. • For its association with the efforts of James Chesters as a local land agent and property developer, following his move to Western Australia in 1905. • For its association with Joseph (Joe) Totterdell, who was responsible for the construction of many Subiaco houses (including some in Kershaw Street), and who, for a brief period (1916-17), lived at 25 Kershaw Street (one of his development properties).

Physical Description

12 Kershaw Street was designed as a modest, single storey Federation Queen Anne house. It has stretcher-bond face-brick walls and a gabled-hipped corrugated metal roof. The roofline has been altered to accommodate rear additions and no chimneys remain. The main facade features tuck-pointed brickwork with two plain rendered stringcourses, one at window sill height, the other at door head height. On the southern side of this façade there is a projecting wing, which features a gable end, with a roughcast render face and timber battens over an elongated triangular base panel. Beneath this gable there is a shallow projecting bay with a triple casement window, shaded by a bullnose awning with carved brackets. These windows have plain square highlights. Between the upper string-course and the eaves, this wall has been fully rendered. Abutting this wing, and extending across the remainder of the main façade, there is a bull-nosed verandah roof springing from below the line of the main roof. This is supported on turned timber posts with simple timber brackets. The wall above the verandah has been rendered and the verandah has been extended north to create a carport addition that runs along the side of the house. The main entrance to the house is located under the verandah, adjacent to the southern wing. This has a traditional early twentieth century style door with narrow sidelights and highlights. The verandah area also features a shallow projecting bay with French doors, flanked by side and highlights. Over this bay there is a small gable to the main roofline, with detailing similar to the gable over the projecting wing. The house is set back approximately 4m from the boundary and the front yard has been laid out with a modern cottage garden. The front fence has large rendered masonry posts with square pyramid caps and a low masonry wall. The infill panels have slimline vertical bars with spearheads (with a matching gate to the driveway). The original house retains a moderate level of original external detailing. Major alterations include the carport extension, the rendered panels to the face-brick walls, changes to the bull-nosed profiles, the loss of the chimneys and the alteration of the roofline to accommodate rear additions.

History

James Chesters, an investor from Melbourne, purchased Perth Suburban Lots 249 and 250 in 1891. In the following year he had this area laid out as a new residential estate (Deposited Plan 504), which included the creation of Part Lot 167 and Lot 169 (12 Kershaw Street). Chesters applied for a separate title for the enlarged allotment in 1910 and it is possible (but not confirmed) that the house offered for sale in July 1911 was one of a number he built as speculative development at that time: SUBIACO, 6 Kershaw-street.- Lovely new Brick Villa, large allotment, 6 rooms, conveniences, terms, deposit £100. Chesters, 176 Rokeby-road. Note: the reference to the place as #6 Kershaw Street is likely to relate to its location as the third house along the eastern side of the street. The property was transferred to Percy Pemberton (a supervisor in the Public Works Department) in 1912. It was next offered for sale in 1916: SUBIACO'S BEST HOMES. ……… 6 Rooms, very high position, only built 4 years ago …. No. 12 Kershaw st. Sacrifice, £675; Occupants of the property from its time of construction until 1949 included: 1912-1915 Percy Herbert Pemberton (Supervisor, PWD) 1916 Vacant 1917- 1918 Mrs Byfield 1919 Thomas Cook (Traveller) 1920-1923 Mrs E Lukey 1924-1949 Frank Neetlee Bagot (Auctioneer, Elder Smith & Co) Information in the Electoral Rolls indicates that Frank Bagot remained at this address with his wife, Caroline, until at least the early 1970s.

Integrity/Authenticity

While the place has been altered and extended, it retains clear evidence of the underlying design and detailing. It therefore continues to illustrate the many modest Federation Queen Anne ‘villas’ built in James Chesters residential estate in the period c.1905 to 1914.

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

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