Hesse Street Residential Area
Hesse Street and Hobson Street and St Andrews Street and Stokes Street QUEENSCLIFF, QUEENSCLIFFE BOROUGH
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Statement of Significance
Statement of Significance as recorded under the Queenscliff Heritage Study 2009
What is significant?
This precinct is situated at the south end of Hesse Street and is significant for the number of relatively large and intact examples of residential buildings which date from the early development of Queenscliff through to the present day. In particular it demonstrates the evolution of residential building styles in the township. The precinct also contains two of Queenscliff's key corner buildings, the St Andrews Church and Seaview House, both at the Hesse and Stokes Street intersection.
Specific significant and contributory buildings within the precinct are identified in the attached schedule.
How is it significant?
This precinct is of architectural, historical and aesthetic significance to the Borough of Queenscliffe.
Why is it significant?
The Hesse Street Residential Precinct is of local historical importance in demonstrating a series of phases of residential development in Queenscliff within a contained area. Many of the residences have interesting historical associations - many of long-standing - with individuals and Queenscliff families of note. The precinct's desirability and proximity to the township's commercial centre saw a number of its allotments developed for relatively substantial residences.
The precinct is also of local aesthetic importance; it includes a number of buildings of individual architectural distinction and these combine with the supporting (contributory) buildings in the precinct to present a streetscape of considerable interest and diversity. The two key non-residential buildings at the northern end of the precinct (St Andrew's Church and Seaview House) both are of individual aesthetic (architectural) significance and stand as key corner buildings in Queenscliff.
This section of Hesse Street is one of the few streets in Queenscliff that has retained aspects of its original/early presentation with a central sealed carriageway, grass and gravel verge and stone gutter to the west side and grassed verge and drainage channel to the east side. The mature street tree specimens of Ulmus x Hollandicus (Dutch Elm) contribute to the aesthetic and historic character of the precinct.
The area has a broad cross-section of the different periods of residential buildings in Queenscliff within a relatively compact area. The area is considered to be of significance for the following reasons:
(i) the collection of a group of architecturally and historically significant residential buildings in one area
(ii) the association of the area and a number of the buildings with the Priddle family
(iii) the existence of established street tree planting and the retention of the roadway in its basic nineteenth century layout
(iv) the importance of the key corner buildings on the Hesse and Stokes Street intersection
(v) the transition of the main commercial centre into a residential centre
(vi) the importance of this section of the street as one of the main entranceways to the centre of the town.
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Hesse Street Residential Area - Usage/Former Usage
Extract from the 1982 study
The east side of this section of Hesse Street was originally reserved for pilots' residences in the 1854 plan of subdivision, but was sold off in the 1860s when most of the pilots had chosen to live elsewhere in the town. Much of the reserve was purchased by the Presbyterian Church at that time and subsequently resold as still undeveloped land in the 1890s. On the west side of the street most of the allotments were sold during the 1854 to 1856 land sales and were gradually built upon over the following decades. By 1864 five residences existed in the street, four of which are still standing, and the original St. Andrews Church.
Hesse Street Residential Area - Physical Description 1
Extract from the 2009 study
The area is bounded by St Andrews Street between Stokes Street and King Street, King Street between St. Andrews Street and 14 King Street, the rear of the properties of the west side of Hesse Street between King Street and Stokes Street, and Stokes Street between St Andrews Street and 17 Stokes Street.
The subdivided allotments from the Crown Lands were sold off in the mid nineteenth century and were progressively developed for residential purposes resulting in a precinct which demonstrates a broad cross-section of the different periods of residential buildings in Queenscliff within a relatively compact area. The original subdivision layout remains relatively intact.
Houses that contribute to the heritage qualities of this precinct date from in the mid nineteenth century (1860s) through to the early twentieth century and the interwar period. Many are of individual historical and aesthetic (architectural ) significance. There are also a relatively small number of non-contributory post-WWII residences.
The precinct generally comprises larger single-storey residences of masonry or timber construction, generally with hipped roofs of corrugated steel sheeting. A number of the more interesting and important examples have distinctive detailing. The majority have front verandahs in timber, many with decorative cast iron lacework friezes and brackets. A small proportion of these verandahs are replacements, including reproduction verandahs of relatively recent origins and unknown authenticity in terms of form and detailing. In addition to the replacement of verandahs, typical alterations to buildings in this precinct include the modification or replacement of the window and door joinery, including the enlargement of window openings. Front setbacks vary and are more consistent on the eastern side of the street.
The area also includes two important non-residential sites at its northern end, the St Andrews Uniting Church complex at 83-89 Hesse Street, and Seaview House at 86 Hesse Street, a shop and residence of 1875 expanded and converted in the 1880s and 1890s to a large boarding house and coffee palace.
This area contrasts in both its building stock and use with the commercial part of Hesse Street further north. The transition between the two areas occurs at the Hesse Street/Stokes Street intersection, where St Andrew's Church and Seaview House provide a buffer between the two distinct precincts.
This section of Hesse Street is one of the few streets in Queenscliff that has retained aspects of its original/early presentation with a central sealed carriageway, grass and gravel verge and stone gutter to the west side and grassed verge and drainage channel to the east side. The mature street tree specimens of Ulmus x Hollandicus (Dutch Elm) contribute to the aesthetic and historic character of the precinct.
Heritage Study and Grading
Queenscliffe - Queenscliffe Urban Conservation Study
Author: Allom Lovell & Associates P/L, Architects
Year: 1982
Grading:Queenscliffe - Queenscliffe Heritage Study
Author: Lovell Chen
Year: 2009
Grading:
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LATHAMSTOWEVictorian Heritage Register H1052
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PILOTS COTTAGESVictorian Heritage Register H1618
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ROSENFELDVictorian Heritage Register H1134
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