Surrey Hills North Residential HO535
West Road, Chatham Road, Croydon Road, Empress Road, Guildford Road, Junction Road, Kngston Road, Mont Albert Road, Sir Garnet Road, Sunbury Crescent SURREY HILLS, BOROONDARA CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is Significant
The Surrey Hills North Residential Precinct is a large precinct area located in Surrey Hills, and part of Canterbury, and bounded (in general terms) by the railway embankment and Sunbury Crescent to the south; Mont Albert Road to the north; Chatham Road to the west; and (approximately) the east boundaries of properties running parallel with Union Road in the east. Streets in the precinct predominantly run from east to west, with generally lesser (shorter) streets, other than Chatham Road, running north-south. Mont Albert Road is the principal road within the precinct, and defines the northern precinct boundary. There are two main periods of residential development, being late Federation concentrated in the period 1910-1915; and the interwar period of the 1920s, 1930s, through to the early 1940s. Generally, houses are constructed of timber, timber and rough-cast stucco, and brick or brick and render. Timber houses are in the majority, which is typical of Surrey Hills. Dwellings range from large brick houses on generous allotments to more modest timber bungalows. There are also clusters of earlier housing comprising late Victorian residences; and a small pocket of attached commercial buildings from c.1910 on the north side of Mont Albert Road, adjoining Wells Street. Established gardens are another feature of the area; street, or median, plantings are also characteristic, including in Croydon, Guildford, Empress, Sir Garnet, Kingston and Mont Albert roads.
The precinct comprises a high number of properties which have are graded 'contributory', with relatively few graded 'significant'.
How is it Significant Surrey Hills North Residential Precinct is of historical and aesthetic/architectural significance to the City of Boroondara.
Why is it Significant
The Surrey Hills North Residential Precinct is of local historical significance, as a long-standing residential area in the northern part of Surrey Hills, which demonstrates aspects of the growth and consolidation of the suburb from the latter decades of the nineteenth century through to the later interwar period. John H Knipe, an early landowner in the precinct, was reputedly the first to use the name 'Surrey Hills' when he subdivided his landholding in 1878. Mont Albert Road, the principal road in the precinct, is one of Boroondara's oldest roads. More intensive development in the precinct commenced in the 1880s after the extension of the railway line to Lilydale, the construction of the station in 1882, and the promotion of the area as a desirable residential location. The economic Depression of the 1890s stymied development, until building activity resumed in the first decades of the twentieth century. The extension of the tram line along Whitehorse Road to Union Road in September 1916 stimulated development in the precinct, as was the later opening of the Chatham railway station in 1927. By 1920, much of the remaining vacant land in the precinct area had been built out. The precinct also accommodated new homes for returning World War One soldiers, including in bungalows designed, promoted and financed by the State Savings Bank of Victoria. After the Second World War, as with other parts of Boroondara, the advent of the motor car confirmed Surrey Hills as a dormitory suburb for Melbourne workers. Surrey Hills North Residential Precinct is also of local aesthetic/architectural significance, comprising housing with a comparatively high level of intactness from two main periods of development, being the late Federation period of 1910-1915, and the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s to early 1940s. The Federation houses derive from a time in Australian architecture when a distinctive national style was developing, influenced by the international Arts and Crafts movement, Art Nouveau, and elements of the Queen Anne mode. Valued characteristics of Federation houses in the precinct include simple L-shaped plans with a single projecting gable, often half-timbered; hipped roofs played off against the projecting gables; diagonal components such as angled corners or curved bays, sometimes coupled to an angled gablet or corner tower; and hinged casement windows often grouped in threes and fours. The 1920s houses in the precinct are generally bungalow variants, in a style influenced by contemporary American bungalows, including those of California as well as 'Craftsman' bungalows. Valued characteristics of these precinct dwellings include conspicuous transverse roof forms with gable ends (typical of Melbourne bungalows, and of the Craftsman style), or two superimposed gables; forward-sloping roofs which emphasise the horizontal massing, and often integrate with verandahs; and verandahs enclosed by medium-height walls usually in the same materials as the house walls, with paired square-plan timber posts or occasionally brick piers clad in stucco. Distinguishing characteristics of the 1930s -early 1940s houses include porch areas (rather than verandahs); hipped roofs with lower pitches; and more simply detailed chimneys. There are also more references to 'past' styles, such as Tudor, often conveyed in clinker or tapestry brick. The Victorian houses, which are mostly in the Victorian Italianate style, display bracketed and hipped roofing; some with block front detailing to resemble stone; broad double-hung timber-framed sash windows; and chimneys which are corniced and either stuccoed or in exposed red face brick. Established gardens also contribute to the aesthetic values of the precinct, as do street or median plantings.
For a full list of the individual gradings within the precinct, please refer to the attached PDF citation, or the child records.
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Surrey Hills North Residential HO535 - Physical Description 1
[Note: all properties specifically identified below are of 'contributory' value unless otherwise indicated. Images of select 'significant' and representative 'contributory' properties are included above.]
Overview
Surrey Hills North Residential Precinct is a large precinct area located in Surrey Hills, and part of Canterbury, in the municipality of Boroondara. It is (in general terms) bounded by the railway embankment and Sunbury Crescent to the south; Mont Albert Road to the north; Chatham Road to the west; and (approximately) the east boundaries of properties running parallel with Union Road in the east. Streets in the precinct predominantly run from east to west, with generally lesser (shorter) streets, other than Chatham Road, running north-south. There are also narrow pedestrian walkways between properties, linking streets such as Mont Albert Road through to Guildford Road, and continuing through the Canterbury Sports Ground to Junction Road and onto Chatham station; and elsewhere between Mont Albert Road and Empress Road; and from Guildford Road through to Sunbury Crescent (the latter is just outside the precinct area, on the east side). In addition, an unmade roadway - Frimley Road - connects Surrey Avenue and Empress Road at the east end, narrowing to the aforementioned pedestrian link north to Mont Albert Road.
In terms of the topography, the precinct is undulating, with some of the east-west roads sloping down to the west, and the northern area of the precinct being on higher ground. Close to the railway, in the south-west corner of the precinct, the topography again changes slightly with houses on the south side of Kingston Road between Junction and Chatham roads, being more elevated. Historically, this section of Kingston Road with its cranked alignment previously ran directly parallel to the railway line, turning south at Junction Road, but was realigned after 1909 (see Figure 6). A creek traversed this area, before being diverted into a large brick drain just east of Junction Road and beneath the present-day military property (previously the Council Corporation Yard, on the south side of Kingston Road, see below). When the latter road was realigned, it followed the approximate alignment of the old water course (Figure 4).
In the precinct area, there are a large number of dwellings constructed of timber, a building material less common in other parts of the City of Boroondara, but more characteristic of Surrey Hills. Also as seen elsewhere in Surrey Hills, there are two main periods of residential development in the precinct. These are the late Federation era, concentrated in the 1910-1915 period; and the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s, extending into the early 1940s until restrictions on civilian building programs were enforced for the remainder of the Second World War period. Houses constructed in the precinct in these periods were executed in both timber - being the majority - and brick. Dwellings also range from large brick houses on generous allotments to more modest State Bank timber bungalows and clinker brick semi-detached and freestanding dwellings of the later interwar period.
Generally, houses in the precinct include detached residences of timber, timber and rough-cast stucco, and brick or brick and render. There are also several pairs of semi-detached houses and interestingly, these are not confined to a single era of construction. There are single-fronted timber Federation-era paired houses at 32 and 34 Guildford Road, and a more unusual doublefronted pair at 93 and 95 Guildford Road with their names formed in decorative pressed cement lettering Olinda and Tyne respectively (Figure 11). There is a generously proportioned brick interwar pair at 288 and 288A Mont Albert Road, and two narrow late interwar clinker brick pairs at 34-40 Kingston Road.
There are clusters of earlier housing in the precinct comprising late Victorian residences including, but not limited to 23 Guildford Road, a double-fronted rendered brick Italianate villa which retains its original unpainted render finish ('significant'); 91 Guildford Road, a block-fronted timber lateVictorian villa; and a group of double and single-fronted Victorian cottages at 91-95 and 107-113 Croydon Road, located at the east end of the road. Mont Albert Road also accommodates a row of attached commercial buildings from c.1910, being McKell's grocery at 217-219 and its neighbouring corner store at 215; the free-standing 224 on the opposite side of the street is non-contributory, having been altered. The buildings on the north side are of brick, have zero setbacks to Mont Albert Road (typical of commercial development), timber-posted awnings, high parapets, and a splayed corner form to Wells Street.
The 'Streets overview' below provides more detail on the built form character and periods of development in streets in the precinct. Established gardens are also a feature of the area, as well as street, or median, plantings including for example in Croydon, Guildford, Empress, Sir Garnet, Kingston and Mont Albert roads.
Precinct boundaryWith regard to the precinct boundary, this captures the most intact heritage streetscapes within the general precinct area, with high proportions of heritage properties (mostly of 'contributory' value, see 'Gradings' below). It generally excludes the less intact streets and sections of streets. There are also 'non-contributory' properties within the precinct, including contiguous (immediately adjoining) 'non-contributory' properties, the retention of which largely depends on their location.
This is particularly important in the case of Mont Albert Road, which is an important public road within the precinct, and also defines the northern boundary of the precinct. The 'non-contributory' properties which have been retained here will assist in managing the overall heritage character and values of this key street. Elsewhere, the retention of 'non-contributory' properties occurs where these properties are located in sensitive sections of streets, including at some corners.
The property at the corner of Kingston and Robinson roads includes an RAAF facility (Air Training Corps), Sea Cadet facility, and a scout hall. While in the general precinct area, the property has been excluded from the precinct boundary as the buildings do not have sufficient heritage value in terms of original fabric and form to be included in the Heritage Overlay precinct. The property is also not consistent with the residential history and heritage character of the precinct. It is a large site, with extensive open and carparking spaces and an assortment of mostly modern buildings. An earlier building, assumed to be a drill hall, is believed to date from the first half of the twentieth century but has been reclad and extended and is therefore of limited heritage value. Canterbury Sports Ground, also in the general precinct area, has similarly been excluded from the precinct boundary. Although it is a long-standing sports facility within this area of Surrey Hills, the ground itself also does not have sufficient heritage value, in terms of the fabric, to be included in the precinct.Gradings
Regarding the property gradings, the majority of properties in the Surrey Hills North Residential Precinct are of 'contributory' heritage value, with several identified as being 'significant' (see the Schedule of Properties which accompanies this citation).
Properties of 'significant' heritage value are defined in Boroondara's Clause 22.05 'Heritage Policy' as:
'Significant' heritage places are individually important places of State, municipal or local cultural heritage significance. They can be listed individually in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay. They can also be places that, when combined within a precinct, form an important part of the cultural heritage significance of the precinct. They may be both individually significant and significant in the context of the heritage precinct.
The 'significant' buildings are generally individually important in the precinct context, because they exhibit particular architectural merit or other notable and distinguishing characteristics. They are also typically highly intact, with few if any visible external changes (as seen from the principal streetscape). A number of 'significant' buildings within this precinct are also prominently sited, including on corner allotments, as with 2 Chatham Road, and 203 and 205 Mont Albert Road. The 'significant' buildings are described and referred to below; select images are also included in this citation.
Properties of 'contributory' heritage value are defined as:
'Contributory' heritage places are places that contribute to the cultural heritage significance of a precinct. They are not considered to be individually important places of State, municipal or local cultural heritage significance, however when combined with other 'significant' and/or 'contributory' heritage places, they play an integral role in demonstrating the cultural heritage significance of a precinct.
In this precinct, the 'contributory' value of the properties generally derives from the 'contribution' they make to the overall heritage character of the precinct. This generally includes retaining the fabric, form, detailing and largely original external appearance (as visible from the principal streetscape) of buildings constructed in the two major phases of development which distinguish the precinct. This includes the Federation-style dwellings of the 1910-1915 period (approximate), and interwar houses of the 1920s through to the 1940s, although there are some earlier contributory buildings outside these date ranges. For 'contributory' buildings, some additions are also visible including potentially large additions to the rears (or rear halves) of dwellings; minor changes to the principal facades of these dwellings may also be evident.
Surrey Hills generally has a high proportion of modified and extended dwellings, many of which were originally modest timber houses constructed in the first decades of the twentieth century. With the suburb attracting more affluent residents in the latter twentieth century, a pattern of house renovation and extension emerged, often resulting in smaller dwellings significantly increasing in size, including through construction of large double-storey additions. This pattern is evident in the precinct.
In assessing the acceptability of visible additions and extensions to historic dwellings in the precinct - or the extent to which an addition detracts from the contributory value of the property - a number of factors were considered. These included the form, materials and detailing of the addition, and whether it was sympathetic to the dwelling; the visibility of the addition, and whether it was seen as sufficiently recessive to the original dwelling, or proportionally too dominating or overwhelming; the degree to which the addition can be discerned as a later and non-original element; and the extent to which the original visible roof form has been altered.
'Non-contributory' buildings in the precinct include more recent infill development (including some buildings which adopt a faux or mock heritage form); and buildings from the two major phases of development that have undergone substantial alterations, including large and prominent additions which dominate the front halves of dwellings. Again, as per Clause 22.05, these are defined as:
'Non-contributory' places are places within a heritage precinct that have no identifiable cultural heritage significance. They are included within a Heritage Overlay because any development of the place may impact on the cultural heritage significance of the precinct or adjacent 'significant' or 'contributory' heritage places.Heritage Study and Grading
Boroondara - Surrey Hills and Canterbury Hill Estate Heritage Study
Author: Lovell Chen
Year: 2011
Grading: Local
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