House

Author

City of Subiaco

Place Number

24303

Location

117 Townshend Rd Subiaco

Location Details

Local Government

Subiaco

Region

Metropolitan

Construction Date

Constructed from 1920

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type Status Date Documents
Heritage Area YES 28 May 2024

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type Status Date Grading/Management
Category
Local Heritage Survey Adopted 04 Feb 2003 Some Significance (Level 3)

Parent Place or Precinct

27310 Park Street Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

The place has cultural heritage significance: • As a good representative example of the many 4-5 room brick homes which were built in Subiaco during the Inter War period to meet the needs and aspirations of middle-class residents such as public servants, senior office workers, small business owners, skilled tradesmen and single/widowed women of private means. • As a good representative example of the application of materials and detailing which were derived from the Inter War Californian Bungalow style, but which were applied in a more restrained manner that suited the budgets and expectations of the middle classes in Subiaco during the early twentieth century. • For its aesthetic contribution to a largely intact group of early twentieth century houses. • For its association with the rapid development of Subiaco in the Inter War period and the small scale development by local builders of many residential properties. For information on the significance of the Park Street Heritage Area refer to the Local Planning Policy for the Heritage Area.

Physical Description

Note: Much of the façade is obscured from public view by mature garden planting. The following description is based on glimpses from the street. Architectural style 117 Townshend Road does not clearly represent any of the major architectural styles of the 1920s, but does include restrained elements of the Inter-War California Bungalow style. It was designed to take advantage of its corner location and was built to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as professional men, office workers, retail employees and skilled tradesmen. Plan form at the street frontage • Asymmetrical facade. This features a stepped façade with a corner verandah facing the intersection. Roof form and materials • Gable-hipped roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting. Note: prior to c.2009 the roof was finished with terracotta tiles, which were consistent with the style of the house and its period of construction. • The Townshend Road and Park Street gables both have a shingle-style apex panel, over a roughcast rendered face set with vertical timber battens. The Townshend Road gable projects out over a rectangular window bay, while the Park Road gable is set flush to the wall. • Hipped roof over the corner verandah, extending in a broken-back alignment from the main roofline. • Roughcast rendered chimneys with flat caps. Wall materials and finishes to the main facade • Slightly projecting single brick course at about mid-wall height. • Tuck-pointed brick below the projecting brick course. • Roughcast rendered finish above the projecting brick course. Other detailing to main facade • Rectangular window bay to the projecting wing at the northern end of the Townshend Road frontage. • Raked awning across the face of the window bay. This has simple square profile timber brackets; side panels with square balusters; shaped end rafters and shingle-style cladding. • Triple casement window under the window awning. Each window has 4 small rectangular panes over a larger bottom pane. Projecting rendered sill. • Main entrance located at the first setback, which forms a small entry vestibule under the corner verandah. • High-waisted entrance door framed by a highlights and half-height sidelights. Leadlight glazing featuring a delicate floral motif. • French doors opening onto the verandah from the second setback. Each leaf divided into rectangular panes by slender timber mullions. • South facing wall bisected by a slightly projecting chimney breast. • Single casement window to either side of the chimney breast. • Verandah supported on paired square posts set on rendered piers. Paired posts linked at the top by a row of vertical square balusters and framed by curved brackets. Note: the verandah detailing is similar to that used for 101 Townshend Road. Streetscape setting • House set back approximately 4.3m from the Townshend Road frontage and 1m from the Park Street frontage. • Lot width approximately 10.1m. • Side setback of approximately 600mm to the northern boundary. • Front yard enclosed by a scalloped timber picket fence, backed by mature garden planting.

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 Lot 221 was subdivided as Deposited Plan 1535 in 1896 and advertised as the “Salisbury Estate”. This comprised 42 lots, including 14 lots along the western side of Townshend Road between Barker and Bagot Road. From the readily available information, Lot 14 was not developed until c.1920. In 1921-1935 the house had at least 5 different primary occupants. A review of the Post Office Directories at 5-yearly intervals (together with reference to contemporary Electoral Rolls) indicates that some of these included:  1925: Mrs Marie Compton Mrs Compton, who was the first recorded occupant, lived here in c. 1921-1925.  1930: Talbot Albert Walls Downing (teacher) The Downing family lived here in c.1929-1932.  1935: Victor Bird Teede (law clerk) The Teede family lived here in c.1933-1937. The first longer-term occupants appears to have been Cecil Howard Creeper (c.1887-1954) (greengrocer) and his wife, Jane Emily (nee Coster) (c.1888-1972), who were married in the Murchison district in c.1917 and had at least 2 children, Marion Edith (born 1918) and Harold Frank (1923). They had moved to Subiaco by the early 1920s and settled at 117 Townsend Road in c.1937, remaining here until the early 1950s. An analysis of a historical Metropolitan Sewerage Plan (dated 1927, updated 1955) and historical aerial photographs indicates that large additions were built at the rear of the house in c.2009, but that the extent and form of the original residence is still clearly evident. These additions replaced the former terracotta tile roof cladding with pre-painted, corrugated steel cladding. Townshend Road was adopted on the City of Subiaco Local Heritage Survey in 2003. It has been assessed as level 3 (contributes to the heritage of the City of Subiaco).

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity - High: The place continues to be used as a private residence. Authenticity - Medium to High: The authenticity of the house within its streetscape setting has been reduced by replacement of the terracotta roof tiles with corrugated metal sheeting. Other than the above, the original external detailing and form of the building (as viewed from the street) appears to be largely intact and/or sympathetically restored/renovated and it remains a good example of its type.

Condition

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

References

Ref ID No Ref Name Ref Source Ref Date
Heritage Assessment of the Park Street Heritage Area Greenward Consulting August 2023
Local Heritage Survey Place Record Local Heritage Survey of the Triangle Precinct 2021

Creation Date

15 Aug 2012

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

26 Jul 2024

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.