House

Statement of Significance

140 Bagot Road, Subiaco is of cultural heritage significance: • For its demonstration of fine timber design and construction. • It demonstrates the type of housing built for semi-professional people in Subiaco in the early 20th century. • For its association with the rapid development of Subiaco in the early 20th century. • It has potential to provide information on timber detailing design and construction in the early 20th century.

Physical Description

140 Bagot Road is a brick and iron single storey dwelling in the Federation Queen Anne style which is highly decorated and articulated to the front elevation. The place is of asymmetric plan form with a series of gables projecting from the main hipped roof. The gables are finished with roughcast render and timbered detailing. The house is of brick construction with tuckpointed finish and rendered bands extending around the building and over the top of the sash windows. An extensive verandah wraps around the projecting bay to the front of the property and extends along the east elevation terminating at the side entrance. The land slopes away towards the rear (north) of the house with the side entrance of the verandah being accessed by stepped entry. The entrance door is timber panelled with leaded stained glass windows. The canopy to the verandah is the continuation of the iron roof and is supported on turned timber columns with a similar styled balustrade and carved brackets. Tall brick chimneys with rendered corbelling project from three sections of the roof. The main gable to the front of the house incorporates vertical timbered detailing which terminates in timber dentils below the gable line.

History

The land on which this residence is located was originally part of a large landholding designated as Perth Suburban Lot 221 which was acquired in 1886 by Vicar General and later Catholic Bishop Matthew Gibney (1835-1925). The Catholic Church had a long association with the Subiaco district as the Benedictine Monks had established a centre in the present day Wembley and named it ‘New Subiaco’ after ‘Subiaco, Italy’ where their order was founded. In the 1890s, Subiaco was one of the areas surrounding Perth undergoing enormous change as a result of the increasing population following the gold discoveries in the east of the colony. Speculators and developers purchased large parcels of land and subdivided them for sale to this population hungry for affordable homes. The lots within Perth Suburban Lot 221 were subdivided for sale in 1896. The lots of approximately 366 square metres began to sell quickly; many were bought in groups as investments. A group of lots on the north side of Bagot Road, including the site of the future 140 Bagot Road, was purchased by Frederick William Hawkinson in 1901 and then transferred to James Todd, the proprietor of the Victoria Hotel in 1902. Within one month the lots were transferred to The Stanley Brewery Company of Perth who held the property until March 1904 when lots 36, 37 and 38 were transferred to architect, Richard Edwin Howard (1847-1913). Howard, born in Surrey, England was working in Victoria before relocating to Western Australia c1900. He worked for the Public Works Department, particularly on the design of the William Street Overbridge (Horseshoe Bridge) in 1903. Howard built the house in 1905 and its rateable value at the time of construction was £800 which was a valuable property at the time. It is likely Howard designed the property although no design or description of the original residence has been discovered in this research. A search for any other comparative works was also unsuccessful although it seems Howard bought and sold land for development. Howard leased the residence whilst he and his wife lived in West Perth. Howard sold the property to Edwin Alfred Whittaker and Arthur George Whittaker in August 1908. The Whittaker brothers were the founders of the timber and hardware business ‘Whittaker Brothers’ which operated in Hay Street, Subiaco until 1972. The purchase of this property by the brothers was as an investment as both lived in other properties in Subiaco at the time. It is possible that the intricate design and detail of the verandah balustrading and posts was the responsibility of the Whittaker Brothers and built after the original construction. Throughout the majority of the 20th century the property appears to have been leased to a variety of occupants the majority of whom were semi-professional people. • 1906 John Joseph Duffell, clerk • 1907 Thomas Quarterman • 1908-1909 Charles H Teague, law clerk • 1911-1912 Samuel E Grimwood, accountant • 1913 Fred J Huelin, clerk • 1914 James Dreghorn, civil servant • 1916-1919 John Bull Newbery, teacher • 1920 Roland Young, clerk John Anderson, • 1921 Vincent Klem, • 1922-1923 John Boxall, accountant • 1924 Mrs Amy Charles • 1925 Francis Charles Hatton, engine fitter • 1926-1930 Charles Bussell, carpenter • 1931-1932 John and Annie Hawley, pastoralist George Weston, clerk • 1933 Mrs M G Egan • 1934-1949 Frederick James Bannear and family, F. J. Bannear, labourer The entries for the property in the Post Office directories occasionally refer to more than one occupant of the place indicating that the residence may have been divided internally for separate occupants. Or this may be an indication that boarders were sometimes accommodated. Sparse information is available on the occupants of the residence although some tragic events were recorded in the local press. In 1907, Charles and Bethia Teague lost their youngest of four daughters, Hazel Edra, aged 13 months whilst living at the house. It was noted in the press that the residence was known at this time as “Wendouree” which is the name of a lake near Ballarat, Victoria. Like many men Charles Teague (1860-1942) had relocated to Western Australia in the 1890s where he married local girl Bethia Beatrice Wright in 1895. A further tragic event followed in 1908, when the daughter of Samuel and Mabel Grimwood was stillborn at the house. Modifications have occurred to the property since its original construction although the extent of changes has not been determined. An aerial photograph of the property in 1981 shows that the roof was either a red corrugated iron or terracotta tile roof at that time and has since been replaced with corrugated zincalume.

Condition

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

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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