Former Canterbury Brickworks Housing
52-58 Rochester Road CANTERBURY, BOROONDARA CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
The row of terrace houses at 52-58 Rochester Road, Canterbury, to the extent of their 19th-century fabric. What are now four houses were constructed in 1889 as eight tiny units for workers at the Canterbury Brickworks, by the owner of the brickworks, William Charles Tayler. The brickworks failed during the 1890s depression, and were converted to four private dwellings by 1898.
The houses are constructed of tuckpointed polychrome brick, with a transverse gable roof and polychrome corbelled chimneys. They have convex front verandahs and symmetrical block fronts. A panelled door and a blind arch (where the second front door was originally) are at the centre of each facade, with a pair of narrow double-hung windows on either side.
Modern rear additions to the houses are not significant.
How is it significant?
The terrace houses are of local historic and architectural significance to the City of Boroondara.
Why is it significant?
The terrace houses are of historic significance for illustrating the development of the brick-making industry in the eastern part of the municipality, which has been overshadowed by the Hawthorn brick industry. The row demonstrates the modest lodgings offered to workers in this industry, particularly in the original size of the houses, which is still legible thanks to the redundant party walls and door lintels above the blind arches. It also demonstrates the practice of establishing workers' housing immediately adjacent to their work site, in the days before extensive public or private transportation. The houses are also a rare example of working-class housing in this part of Boroondara. While rare throughout the city, apart from pockets adjacent to industrial sites and in the low-lying areas of Hawthorn, the eastern part (the former City of Camberwell) has had a particularly pronounced middle-class character since its establishment. (Criteria A & B)
The terrace houses are of architectural significance as a representative example of late 19th-century terrace housing that, while common in Melbourne's inner suburbs, is rare in Boroondara. The houses also employ decorative polychrome brickwork which was popular from the 1870s to the early 1890s, and could be seen as an advertisement for the wares of the adjacent Canterbury Brickworks. (Criterion D)
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Heritage Study and Grading
Boroondara - Individual Heritage Citations
Author: City of Boroondara
Year: 2016
Grading:
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CANTERBURY MANSIONSVictorian Heritage Register H0869
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SHRUBLANDSVictorian Heritage Register H2037
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EMULATION HALLVictorian Heritage Register H2298
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