Lygon Street Precinct C
313-321 LYGON STREET, BRUNSWICK EAST, MORELAND CITY
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Statement of Significance
The Lygon Street Precinct C is a small discrete portion (313-321 Lygon Street, Brunswick East) of a Victorian shopping strip constructed in the same period as the nearby the residential development of the area east of the precinct (c.1880). The precinct comprises a row of two pairs of two storey Victorian shops which flank a single Victorian shop. A bluestone service lane runs behind the row of shops from Anne Street. The shops date from prior to 1894, and provided common goods and services to the immediate community.
These shops represent some of the few surviving Victorian shops from this important local shopping strip, the west side of Lygon Street between Albert and Victoria Streets was the most intensively developed part of Lygon Street in 1904. The upper storeys of the shops are all relatively intact. Number 317 has simple decorative detailing on the upper storey facade, including a small arched motif at the centre of the parapet and horizontal mouldings above the windows. The upper storey facades of 313-315 and 319-321 are decorated on classical lines, but the render ornament is more decorative. There are other examples of Victorian shops located both north and south of the precinct, including a row of six single storey shops located at 283-295 Lygon Street. However, the group at 313-321 Lygon Street represent the most intact examples of Victorian buildings remaining in this area.
The buildings within this precinct are in good condition and generally retain a good degree of integrity on their upper storey facades. The lower ground floor shopfronts have been substantially altered.
Elements which contribute to the significance of the precinct include (but are not limited to):.
- The generally good integrity of upper level facades and original detailing and finishes, typically comprising render and decorative moulding
- The attached form of retail, commercial and residential buildings with uniform front setbacks and similar facade widths forming repetitive modules.
- The two storey scale of buildings.
- Parapeted facades with concealed roofs.
- Original unsealed bluestone access lane at the rear of the shops
- 133B Lygon Street
The Lygon Street Precinct C is of historical and aesthetic significance to the City of Merri-bek.
Lygon Street Precinct C is historically significant as tangible evidence of the intensive commercial development in Lygon Street in the late nineteenth century. As part of the shopping strip associated with the late Victorian subdivision and development of the surrounding streets for residential development it is significant for its capacity to illustrate one of the major phases of development in the Municipality associated with the 1880s land boom. The significance of the precinct is enhanced by its rarity value as one of the few remaining groups of relatively intact Victorian shops in Lygon Street.
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Lygon Street Precinct C - Physical Description 1
This precinct is located on the west side of Lygon Street, Brunswick East, just north of Ann Street. It encompasses five two-storey rendered and parapeted Victorian shops, as well as a bluestone pitched laneway that runs behind them.
The shops were built in three groups. Nos 313-315 have the name 'Driscoll's Buildings' written on their parapet. The upper floors and parapets have finely executed classical details in render, including panelled piers, window labels and keystones, moulded stringcourses, cast roundels, and balustraded parapets with cast urns. No 313 has a chamfered corner and the fine moulded detail continues for one bay on the Ann Street elevation.
The next shop, No 317, was built singly. It is both shorter and narrower than Driscoll's Buildings, and much simpler in detail. It has a small arched motif at the centre of the parapet. Above the two first-floor windows are horizontal mouldings that appear to be remnants from former aedicules.
The final pair, Nos 319-321, also draw on a classical vocabulary, but their render ornament is quite exuberant in comparison with the elegant Driscoll's Buildings. The facades are framed by fluted Corinthian pilasters, as are the first-floor windows that sit below triangular pediments. The windows also have unusual cast-iron railings at their base, in a Gothic Revival floral pattern. At the top of the two buildings are bracketed cornices below a frieze of cast swags. The triangular pediments have vermiculated panels inside, cast scrolls at either side and a cast anthemion at the apex. At the centre of the two parapets is a urn with swags.
All of the shopfronts have been replaced, with a particularly unsympathetic example at No 317. The original corner entrance to No 313 has been moved and replaced with a window. While the entire row would have originally had posted verandahs, these were replaced with cantilevered verandahs and one fabric awning (No 321).
Condition: The shops are in generally good condition.
Integrity: The precinct has a good degree of integrity,particularly to the upper stories, although all of the shopfronts have been altered.
Heritage Study and Grading
Moreland - Lygon Street Heritage Study Stage 2
Author: Context Pty Ltd
Year: 2012
Grading: Local
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COTTAGEVictorian Heritage Register H0594
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BRUNSWICK FIRE STATION AND FLATSVictorian Heritage Register H0916
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CHRIST CHURCHVictorian Heritage Register H0129
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