House

Statement of Significance

The place has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: • For its aesthetic value as a representative example of a well designed Federation era weatherboard cottage. • For its historic value as a demonstration of the period in which Subiaco underwent rapid development in the early 20th century.

Physical Description

155 Gloster Street is a single storey timber weatherboard dwelling with a corrugated steel hip and gable roof displaying characteristics of the Federation Bungalow style of architecture. The residence has an asymmetrical form with a projecting bay addressing the street. The pitched roof has ridge gablet addressing the street and two rendered brick chimneys with terracotta pots. The gable end has half-timbered panelling with a rough rendered infill and a turned timber finial. A corrugated steel bullnose verandah extends along the recessed portion of the front façade supported by turned timber posts. A timber framed entry door features a decorative screen door with a highlight and a sidelight. A timber framed double hung window is located within the verandah while a pair of timber framed double hung windows are located within the projecting bay. The window within the projecting bay has a timber framed skillion awning above with a timber valance. Adjacent to the front door is a name plaque with the title ‘BERRIMA’. The dwelling has a two-storey addition to the rear. The front yard is predominately lawn with some plantings lining the verandah and perimeter fences. The place is enclosed to the front by a contemporary timber picket fence approximately 1500mm high with a central timber gate and hedging in front of the fence line. A mature verge tree partially obscures the place from the street. The place is serviced to the rear by a laneway.

History

A mid-1890s map shows the future Gloster Street only to the west of Derby Road, named Bent Street near the railway and Murchison Street the rest of the length. The site of 155 Gloster Street is shown as already subdivided at this time, on the section labelled Murchison Street. In 1903, George Shenton subdivided and sold the land through to Hensman Street and the roadway became known as Gloster Street. By 1912, the former Bent Street was also named Gloster Street. A residence first appears in the Post Office Directories at 155 Gloster Street in 1914, when it was known as 135 Gloster Street (changing to 155 Gloster Street in 1926, when Cecelia Street was incorporated into the numbering). The first occupant of the place listed as George Middleton, plumber. Occupants changed several times before May Emily Truscott arrived c.1924. Online records suggest that May (formerly Green, nee Leeder) had married Septimus Noel Leeder (c.1882-1909) in 1905 and then Clarence Leopold Truscott (c.1887-1916) in 1912. She was born c.1882 and had at least five children: Jack Woodley Leeder (born 1906), Allan William Leeder (1907), Eric Leonard Truscott (1913), Thelma Jean Truscott (1914) and Clarice Mae Truscott (1916). The children’s births were all registered in the Avon Valley, at Toodyay and then Northam. Both her husbands died as young men, when their children were very young, leaving May to raise a large family. May Truscott remained at 155 Gloster Street until at least 1968 and probably until her death in 1971, aged 87. In the 1930s and 1940s, several of her adult children also lived with her, but the house does not appear to have continued to be occupied by Leeders or Truscotts after May’s death. A sewerage plan from 1927 shows a timber residence with verandah across half the front width, which matches the extant building in 2021. The house was extended to the rear in the early 1990s.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity - High Authenticity - High

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

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