Timber Mining Cottage Series
Albert St, Birdwood Ave, Charlotte St, Victoria St, Walker St, Wilsons Lne, Yarrowee St SEBASTOPOL, BALLARAT CITY
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Statement of Significance
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Timber Mining Cottage Series - Integrity
The places within this series all retain a fair to high degree of integrity externally. Generally, all of the residences within the series retain the following original features:
- Roof form (although cladding has been replaced, mainly like with like, but there are notable exceptions specified below)
- Building form, layout and arrangment
- Weatherboard cladding
- Symmetrical arrangement of facade, including the retention of original windows and doors
- Early (if not original) verandah form and cladding (posts may have been replaced and decorative iron or timber friezes added)
- Original setback to the street frontage
Alterations and additions to the places within this series include:
133 Albert Street: New timber verandah posts (with half brick piers) and new timber balustrade
9 Birdwood Avenue: Modern additions to the rear of the cottage
37 Birdwood Avenue: New Colourbond roof cladding and carport added to east elevation. The verandah has been entirely reconstructed.
49-51 Birdwood Avenue: Verandah enclosed (reversible)
32 Charlotte Street: External walls clad in 'trick-brick' (reversible); roof clad in metal-tiles (reversible); and early altered verandah (c1900-10) (does not detract from significance or integrity)
38 Charlotte Street: Verandah replaced, original chimney removed
21 Victoria Street: A new timber frieze added to the verandah and modern verandah posts. The original chimneys have been lost.
23 Victoria Street: Original corrugated iron roof cladding replaced with cement tiles; verandah posts replaced with mild steel (c1960s).
10 Walker Street: Weatherboard clad with vinyl cladding (reversible)
49 Wilsons Lane: Addition to side of residence (unsympathetic), alters building form. Original chimneys removed
197 Yarrowee Street:Original chimneys removed, weatherboards clad in vinyl cladding (reversible)
209 Yarrowee Street:Original chimneys removed, font door replaced with reproduction
Timber Mining Cottage Series - Physical Description 1
The individual places which make up the Timber Mining Cottage Series are located in Albert Street, Birdwood Avenue, Charlotte Street, Victoria Street, Walker Street, Wilson's Lane and Yarrowee Street, in Sebastopol. The buildings are all stylistically very good examples of the modest timber cottages, some relocated and relocatable associated with Sebastopol's earliest residences and population. All of the residences are located on individual allotments of varying size within the former township of Sebastopol. The land on which the residences stand is generally non-contiguous in location. The residences date from as early as 1855 through to the late 1880s. Historically, there is evidence of this type of cottage being moved between mining towns, including within Sebastopol. The limited historical information available suggests that many of the cottages were not on their current allotments until the late 1870s, although their construction date may be much earlier than this. The cottages are generally associated with the two main periods of gold 'boom' in Sebastopol - 1855-1870 and 1885-1890.
Setback and allotments
The properties are typically set back between 3 and 6 meters from the title boundary. There are two examples where the set back is greater than this (133 Albert Street, set back 7.5 metres; and 209 Yarrowee Street, set back 10.5 metres). Other than those on corner allotments, all residences have generous side set-backs, allowing views of side elevations and roof forms which assist in understanding the sequence of building development.
Gardens and trees
Several of the residences have mature gardens and large trees which provide a context and setting for the residence, others have little or no visible garden or plantings. Notable trees and gardens are located at 23 Victoria Street, which has a fine example of Ulmus glabra 'Lutescens' (Golden Wych Elm) planted on the boundary with 21 Victoria Street and other mature trees in the rear garden. 197 Yarrowee Street has an appropriate (if reconstructed) front garden layout using red bricks to create a symmetrical cottage garden. Typically the residences have low, stylistically appropriate fences on the street boundary, dating from various periods. The most common types are modern imitations of timber picket fences. Few early fences survive. The notable fences include 23 Victoria Street - a fine hairpin fence and original simple gate, 21 Victoria Street has a simple timber and heavy gauge cyclone wire fence from the interwar period. Othe replacement fence types include low brick fences, steel pipe and mesh and decorative cast iron modern types.
Materials and design
The doubled fronted cottage with or without a front verandah is one of the simplest nineteenth century residential building types, with variations of roof type - the earliest dating from the 1850s with a simple hip roof. Later roof types include the single or multiple transverse gable forms or additions to the hip in the form of a secondary hip, a gable, skillion or combination of these, often showing a clear sequence of building development over time.
The two main roof styles exhibited in this series is the simple hip (with later additions of gable/skillion etc.) and the transverse gable (with later additions of additional gables/skillion etc.). The original roof cladding is likely to have been corrugated iron - no original short sheets or iron are evident, as most have been replaced with new corrugated iron, or in the case of 32 Charlotte Street and 23 Victoria Street, various forms of roof tile. Some roofs have been reclad in zincalume.
The cottages are all modest in size, single storey, block fronted and constructed of weatherboard with timber framed windows and timber doors. The verandahs are all timber and corrugated iron, supported by timber posts. Some verandahs have had alterations pre-1950, such as the Federation style timber verandah at 32 Charlotte Street (c.1900-1910), the interwar additions to the verandah at 133 Albert Street (brick piers supporting timber posts). These alterations do not detract from the integrity of the cottage; rather, they represent subsequent change and development over time.
All of the cottages are symmetrically arranged, with a central door flanked by double hung timber sash windows. Almost all of the cottages have one up one down sash windows, the exception being 9 Birdwood Avenue, which retains its original twelve pane double hung sash windows, suggesting an early permanant date for the cottage. Almost all of the front doors are 4 or 6 panelled timber doors which are original to the residence, although 209 Yarrowee Street has a reproduction timber door. A nine paned timber panelled door survives at 9 Birdwood Avenue, and some doors have side lights and fan lights, suggesting either a later construction date or late nineteenth century renovations.
The cottages have either short simple red brick external chimneys with little or no detailing, which appear to date to the interwar period (9 and 49-51 Birdwood Avenue, and 32 and 38 Charlotte Street) or taller bichromatic external chimneys (37 Birdwood Avenue and 23 Victoria Street). 133 Albert Street has a short red brick chimney with a later addition of bichromatic corbelled chimney stack in the late 1890s.The following residences within this listing no longer retain their chimneys: 21 Victoria Street, 49 Wilsons Lane, 197 and 209 Yarrowee Streets.
All of the cottages in this series are clad in weatherboard, although some have had vinyl or trick brick cladding placed over the weatherboard, which is easily removable.
Typical of the early and mid-Victorian period, and the modest nature of these cottages, there are limited original decorative features. 23 Victoria Street has simple scrolled under eave timber brackets (which may have been added at the time the chimney was constructed c. 1890s) and 133 Albert Street has interspersed scrolled timber brackets and roundels beneath the eaves.
Most of the cottages have slightly convex verandahs, clad in corrugated iron. The exceptions are at 32 Charlotte Street, where a broken back verandah has been added circa 1900-1910, 37 Birdwood Avenue, which has a new straight roof verandah and 38 Charlotte Street which has a 1960s verandah stretching across a portion of the facade. It is likely that none of the cottages originally had verandah flooring other than dirt, asphaltor later concrete. None are raised above ground level. The verandah posts are generally square timber, set in a shallow concrete base. 23 Victoria Street has decorative Moderne style iron verandah supports. There is one example of an interwar verandah where brick piers have been added to the timber verandah (133 Albert Street). Many verandahs have later cast-iron friezes (some dating from the late nineteenth century, although many are much later)
All the houses referred to are listed with histories and illustrated in the Schedule of Properties of the Sebastopol Heritage Study (Context 2015).
Notable individual Features within this listing:
133 Albert Street
The gables on the side elevations have ornate timber bargeboards and turned timber finials, showing a Gothic Revival influence. The cornice on the facade comprises the alternating timber brackets and roundels. The verandah has an elegant convex roof and an ornate cast iron frieze, which may be a modern addition, as the timber verandah posts are of a recent date. The windows on the north and south elevations are original. There are a number of early outbuildings at the rear of the property that may be of interest, but were not able to be viewed from the public realm.9 Birdwood Avenue
The early twelve-pane double hung sash windows, glass pane and timber panel door and the modest size and scale of this cottage indicate that it is one of the earliest surviving cottages in Sebastopol. The addition at the rear and on the west elevation is not sympathetic.Timber Mining Cottage Series - Physical Conditions
The following cottages are in good condition:
133 Albert Street, 9 Birdwood Avenue, 37 Birdwood Avenue, 38 Charlotte Street, 21 Victoria Street, 23 Victoria Street, 10 Walker Street, 49 Wilsons Lane, 197 Yarrowee Street, 209 Yarrowee Street.
The cottage at 32 Charlotte Street is in fair condition.
The cottage at 49-51 Birdwood Avenue is in poor condition.
Heritage Study and Grading
Ballarat - Sebastopol Heritage Study (Stage 2)
Author: Context Pty Ltd
Year: 2015
Grading: Local
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