Merowa, 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 101 Bagot Road was designed in the Federation Queen Anne style. It was designed to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as small business owners, professional men, skilled tradesmen and women of independent means. Plan form at the street frontage • Asymmetrical facade. This was designed in a manner that addresses the location at the intersection of Bagot Road and Francis Street, with a stepped façade and verandah facing north-eastern corner. Roof form and materials • Hipped-gabled roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting and battened eaves. • Pair of ball finials at the apex of the roof. • Prominent verge gable, featuring a smooth panelled face, ‘half-timbering’ and a louvered vent with a triangular cap. • Painted brick chimney (originally face brick) with rendered detailing and cap. Wall materials and finishes to the main facade • Tuck-pointed brickwork laid in Flemish bond. • Plain rendered stringcourse at about 1m above floor level. • Decorative rendered stringcourse at about 2.1m above floor level, featuring vertical grooves (in sets of 3), alternating with vermiculated circles. • Decorative rendered eaves course, featuring alternating vermiculated panels and floral buttons, together with timber brackets. Under the gable this also features a nameplate with the word ‘MEROWA’. Other detailing to main facade • Projecting wing on the western side of the main façade, with a shallow rectangular window bay set with two tall, narrow double-hung windows. • Entrance door at the first setback (which formed an entry vestibule). This features traditional moulded architraves, highlight and side lights. • Single, tall, narrow double-hung window at the second setback. Streetscape setting • House set back approximately 7m from the Bagot Road frontage. • Lot width approximately 11.4m. • Built up to the boundary on the western side, with a narrow pathway along the eastern side. • Front yard enclosed by a stone block retaining wall and stone piers, framing with timber picket panels. • Mature garden planting limits some views of the house from the street.

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; 91 in 1915, 94 in 1920 and 13 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 7 was developed as 101 Bagot Road. This had been developed by 1903, when the Subiaco Rate Books identified W Jewell as the owner/occupier. Entries in the Post Office Directories indicate that this was a local plasterer/builder, William George Jewell, who lived here until c.1904. William Jewell (1869-1940) was born in Ballarat, Victoria, and had moved to Western Australia by 1898, when he was living in John Street, Subiaco (with his wife, Mary, and young children, Ivy and Floris). In the Electoral Rolls of 1903, William Jewell was listed as a plasterer of Bagot Road. By 1908 he was listed in the Post Office Directory as a builder of 117 Hamersley Road and by 1912 as contractor of 300 Rokeby Road. Research has indicated that he built at least 6 houses in Subiaco, which he occupied for varying periods. “Merowa”, a five-room brick villa on the corner of Bagot Road and Francis Street, was being advertised for sale at the beginning of 1904. In 1930 it was more specifically described as follows when it was offered for sale by the mortgagees: A well constructed Brick Residence of main room 13 x 17 ft., 2 bedrooms 14 x 14 ft., each, breakfast room, 11 x 12 ft., kitchen 11 x 12 ft., large entrance hall. The house had a high turn-over of occupants until at least the mid-twentieth century (the majority of whom lived here for around 1-5 years), which suggests that it was primarily used as a rental property. A review of the Post Office Directories at 5-yearly intervals (together with reference to contemporary Electoral Rolls) indicates that some of the primary residents during this period included:  1906: Andrew Brunton (manager) In 1907-1908 & 1910-1911 the Rate Books identified ‘Leighton’ as the owner.  1910: Catherine Howard (widow) In 1912-1914 and 1917-1919 the Rate Books identified ‘Luce’ as the owner.  1915: Alfred Tomlinson (School of Engineering, University WA)  1920: Mrs Helen Maud Forbes  1925: Hubert John Gallagher (traveller)  1930: Mrs N Thornton and Richard Lancelot Turnbull (motor driver) In 1929-1930 the Rate Books identified the Perpetual Trustees as the owner.  1935: Walter Eustace Mitchell Blackburn (clerk) In 1935-1936 the Rate Books identified the Cooperative Building Society as the owner.  1940: Andrew George Olney (journalist)  1945: Frederick W Smith  1949: Edward Rathbone Biddell (bank manager) An analysis of a historical Metropolitan Sewerage Plan (revised March 1927) and historical aerial photographs indicates that the house was extended at the rear in c.2013. The footprint of the front portion has remained relatively unchanged.

Integrity/Authenticity

The original external detailing and form of the building (as viewed from the street) appears to be largely intact and/or sympathetically restored/ renovated. The major unsympathetic alteration has been the use of round metal posts for the verandah.

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):

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