HOUSE (BALLEER)
648 BELL STREET,, PRESTON VIC 3072
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Statement of Significance
The house formerly known as 'Balleer', constructed c.1910, at 648 Bell Street, Preston. It is a transitional Federation/Edwardian era house with a relatively unusual form comprising a main gable and two subsidiary gables, which addresses the corner, and has a relatively high degree of external integrity. The original form, detailing and siting of the house contributes to its significance.
Later alterations and additions including the lean-to extension and other outbuildings to the rear are not significant.
How is it significant?
The house at 648 Bell Street, Preston is of local historic and architectural significance to Darebin City.
Why is it significant?
The house at 648 Bell Street, Preston is historically significant as place that provides tangible evidence of the recovery in development in the relatively undeveloped areas of Preston following the economic crash of the late 1890s and prior to the post-First World War boom. (Criterion A)
The house is architecturally significant as a fine example of a Federation era house with Arts and Crafts detailing, which is notable for the way the design addresses its corner siting by the inclusion of subsidiary gables to the Bell Street elevation. (Criteria D)
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HOUSE (BALLEER) - Historical Australian Themes
5. Building Suburban Darebin
5.1 Patterns of settlement
5.3 Developing the suburban idealHOUSE (BALLEER) - Physical Description 1
This house is situated at the corner of Bell Street and Mount Street. It is a transitional late Federation/Edwardian in style with typical brick construction, of face red brick with a continuous decorative string course at window sill level and an upper portion of roughcast render.
The house has a half hipped slate roof in which a louvred ventilator at each end creates a small gable. The form of the house is unusual in that it has a main gable to the front and two subsidiary gables to the side elevation. The gable ends feature a treatment of vertical battens which simulate half-timbering. The roof accommodates three chimneys, each with a lead cowl and moulded cement cornices. The hips of the slate roof are highlighted with terracotta tiles and the ridges of the main roof and each of the gables is decorated with terracotta ridge caps and ram's horn finials.
Each of the gable bays accommodates a three or four light casement window. These each have a projecting metal window hood supported by timber fretwork. The main entrance, comprising an Edwardian double door beneath a shallow entablature, opens onto a small verandah which sits in the junction of the western gable. This comprises a bull-nosed profile verandah with a cast iron frieze. The verandah is supported over a tiled concrete floor by four moulded wooden posts.
The house has high integrity as demonstrated by the retention of original external features and the unpainted brickwork and slate roof. Although it illustrates many fairly typical features for its period, the form is of some interest for the way in which it addresses the corner.
A skillion roofed extension stands at the rear of the house and two detached outbuildings occupy the remainder of the corner plot, of which that in the north east corner is shown on the 1926 MMBW. The garden comprises lawn interspersed with mature fruit trees. An original street fence has probably been removed whilst a panelled example which runs around the house to partition the garden follows an original course but is likely to be a replacement fence.
Heritage Study and Grading
Darebin - Darebin Heritage Study
Author: Context P/L
Year: 2011
Grading: Local
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