Former Lake Bank Hotel Complex
120 Forest Road South, LARA VIC 3212 - Property No 314260
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Statement of Significance
LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE
What is Significant?
The former Lake Bank Hotel complex, 120 Forest Road South, Lara, has significance as the only known surviving mid 19th century rural hotel complex in the City of Greater Geelong and the only surviving 19th century hotel and store buildings in the Lara area. The earliest buildings on the site appear to date from c.1859, when four-roomed and two-roomed stone cottages and a stone dairy had been built as part of Cheddar Farm. One of the original cottages may represent the hipped north wing of the building complex today. The original buildings were substantially extended in 1869 under the ownership of James Henderson to include a hotel at the south-east corner. Today, the significant building fabric includes the triple hipped portion on the Forest Road South frontage, attached northern hipped roof wing and the rear attached and freestanding elongated hipped and gabled wings. The limestone wall construction, front window and door openings to the triple hipped portion, front door opening to the northern hipped portion, rendered and face brick chimneys and the corrugated profile to the sheet metal roof cladding all form part the significant building fabric. Also contributing to the significance of the hotel complex is the stone wall on the Forest Road South boundary, embedded stone outbuilding in the boundary wall, underground tank/well and the surviving mature peppercorn and Mulberry trees. Overall, the form, layout and grouping of the buildings as a 19th century hotel complex are predominantly intact, although the integrity of specific fabric has been diminished as a consequence of required repairs. The former hotel complex appears to be in fair-good condition when viewed from the street.
How is it Significant?
The former Lake Bank Hotel complex at 120 Forest Road South, Lara, is historically and architecturally significant at a LOCAL level.
Why is it Significant?
The former Lake Bank Hotel complex at 120 Forest Road South is historically significant for its associations with the earliest farming and commercial developments in Lara from the late 1850s (Criteria A & H). Built as two cottages, dairy and stockyards as part of Cheddar Farm in c.1859, the buildings were substantially extended and transformed in 1869 as the Lake Bank Hotel with an attached grocery store by the owner, James Henderson. Both the hotel and store operated until the early 20th century. The hotel operated by various publicans and the store by the wife of James Henderson, Euphemia Henderson, from 1873 until later in the 19th century.
The former Lake Bank Hotel at 120 Forest Road South is architecturally significant as it is a rare surviving example of a mid 19th century complex of Victorian vernacular styled hotel and store buildings in Lara and the Greater Geelong municipality (Criteria A, B & E). Although the buildings have recently been repaired and altered, they continue to demonstrate their original Victorian vernacular design qualities in their roof forms, construction materials, openings, chimneys and layout. Importantly, it is the grouping of the buildings as a whole that is of particular architectural value, being the only existing hotel and store buildings in the Lara area and one of few surviving mid 19th century hotel buildings in the Greater Geelong area. The buildings provide a tangible understanding of hotel, store and farm life from the 1850s and 1860s. The stone boundary wall along the Forest Road South frontage, including the embedded gabled outbuilding, together with the underground tank/well and mature peppercorn and Mulberry trees also contribute to the aesthetic values of the place.
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Former Lake Bank Hotel Complex - Physical Description 1
DESCRIPTION
The former Lake Bank Hotel, 120 Forest Road South, Lara, is a 19th century hotel complex consisting of a former hotel and attached store fronting Forest Road South in the south-east corner of the site, together with rear attached outbuildings forming a courtyard, and freestanding hipped and gabled outbuildings. Along the Forest Road Boundary is a solid limestone wall that forms a remnant of the original enclosure to the hotel property (the northern and other sections of the wall forming the enclosure have recently been demolished). A small gabled outbuilding is embedded in part of the wall. Adjacent to the vehicle entrance off Forest Road South is a mature peppercorn tree, with additional peppercorn trees and a Mulberry tree surviving in the courtyard and to the west of the rear outbuildings. Several early trees to the north of the outbuildings have recently been removed. Remnants of other early limestone outbuildings with basalt quoining are located in the south-west corner of the site.
The former Lake Bank Hotel is of a Victorian vernacular design and is characterised by two sections at the front: a triple hipped roof section and a lower broad hipped galvanised corrugated iron roof at the northern end. The tripled hipped portion of the building appears to represent the original hotel of 1869. It has introduced corrugated zincalume roof cladding and re-rendered limestone walls and quoinwork, although the door opening with transom is original, as is the flanking segmentally-arched window openings. The two-panelled timber door and the 12 paned timber framed double hung windows have recently replaced an introduced timber door (with upper glazed panel) and windows. The original (19th century) door, removed at some stage in the 20th century, was four panelled (as revealed in the attached historical photograph). Recently blocked up and rendered over at the south-east corner of the building is a door opening that was originally a window opening having a twelve paned double hung window. On the south facade of the triple-hipped wing is an introduced window opening at the east end (it was originally a lower, segmentally-arched door opening) and an original window opening at the west end with an introduced timber framed double hung window. The face brick chimneys to the triple-hipped wing are original. A post-supported skillion verandah is currently under construction, replacing a verandah of similar design that had been introduced at some stage in the 20th century. Originally, the hotel had no verandah on the east facade as shown in the historical photograph of the 1880s.
The lower, northern hipped wing of the hotel complex may represent one of the original cottages built in c.1859. It has an introduced corrugated zincalume roof, recently re-rendered limestone wall construction and re-rendered quoinwork, an early central door opening and flanking window openings, and recently installed timber framed windows and a panelled timber door. The skillion verandah under construction has replaced an earlier, 20th century verandah of similar design. At the rear is an early rendered chimney.
Of particular interest is the building complex as a whole. At the rear of the main hotel and store sections are long and narrow buildings with hipped galvanised corrugated iron roofs that were once the bake house, stables, and store rooms, and they form a courtyard. The attached outbuildings have recently been repaired, with new timber roof structures and corrugated zincalume roof cladding forming part of the repairs. The detached hipped outbuilding has an early corrugated sheet metal roof that shows signs of rusting. Within the courtyard is an early underground tank/well.
The substantial repairs and alterations have improved the condition of the buildings, although the integrity of the original fabric has been diminished. Their forms, layout and grouping as a 19th century hotel complex are predominantly intact. The surviving early stone wall on the Forest Road South boundary is showing signs of lateral movement, particularly in the vertical crack adjacent to the mature peppercorn tree at the vehicle entrance to the property.
Heritage Study and Grading
Greater Geelong - Lara Heritage Review Phase 2
Author: D. Rowe & W. Jacobs
Year: 2013
Grading:
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Former Lake Bank HotelNational Trust
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