HO38 - Stone Cottage
189-193 Blackhill Road TOOLERN VALE, Melton Shire
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Statement of Significance
Overall, the Cottage at 189-193 Blackhill Road, Toolern Vale is of LOCAL significance.
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HO38 - Stone Cottage - Physical Description 1
Physical Description -
The small Foard's Shepherd's Hut, at 189-193 Blackhill Road, retains its open rural setting, with uninterrupted views of the surrounding pastoral land. The cottage garden is surrounded by a recent timber post and rail fence with random rubble corner and gate piers, which have been constructed in the past two decades. The fence is approximately 1400 mm high and there is a tubular steel gate with scrolled top. The garden is rudimentary, largely comprising open grassed areas punctuated by a few plantings, including agapanthas towards the rear.
The single storey, random rubble, Victorian vernacular styled cottage is characterised by a simple gable roof form, with an introduced wide skillion verandah at the front. These roof forms are clad in recent corrugated Colorbond. The gable end on the western end has a wide overhang, suggesting that the roof originally extended to form another space at this end. Other early features include the single door opening (although the door has been introduced) and a small window opening flanking the doorway on the east side. This facade is unusually asymmetrical, again suggesting that a western space has been demolished. Further evidence is found in the western wall that appears to have been reconstructed, as indicated in the variation in mortar colour and texture and the mortar joints at the front corner. The random rubble chimney breasts and fireplace may be early, although the face brick chimneys appear to have been introduced, replacing earlier stone chimneys.
The interior of the building consists of a single room, to which a loft has recently been added, making use of an existing small window at the eastern end.
An original underground tank, now excavated to its original depth of over three metres, remains near the cottage. There are some stone foundations of outbuildings that were burnt in the c.1945 fire that swept through the district.
Partly on the site, and across the boundary of the adjacent property, around the crown of the hill, is an incomplete ring of dry stone walling, forming a ring some 150 metres in diameter. This is mostly in poor to ruinous condition, but portions have been rebuilt by the owners in recent decades. Part of the wall appears to have been professionally constructed conventional double wall. Some parts appear to have been extended to c.1 metre wide at the base; this is likely to be the result of later clearing of paddocks (ie, the wall is partly a 'consumption' wall).
HO38 - Stone Cottage - Historical Australian Themes
Shire of Melton Historical Themes: 'Pastoral', 'Farming', 'Water/Fire'
HO38 - Stone Cottage - Integrity
Integrity - Altered
HO38 - Stone Cottage - Physical Conditions
Physical Condition - Fair-Good
Heritage Study and Grading
Melton - Shire of Melton Heritage Study phase 2
Author: David Maloney, David Rowe, Pamela Jellie, Sera Jane Peters
Year: 2007
Grading:
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