Kaduwela & Clare
173-175 Tooronga Road GLEN IRIS, STONNINGTON CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
'Kaduwela' and 'Clare' at 173 and 175 Tooronga Road, Glen Iris, built in c1891-92 and comprising a formerly identical detached pair of substantial two-storey Italianate villas, are significant. The houses were constructed for landowner, Edward Shears, a successful grocer from Chapel Street.
The houses are significant to the extent of their nineteenth-century external form and fabric, including the surviving iron palisade fences (to both houses) with large masonry piers (to no. 173 Tooronga Road, Glen Iris). As landmarks to this part of Tooronga Road, the legibility of the built form in views from the public realm contributes to the significance of 'Kaduwela' in particular.
Later alterations and additions are not significant.
How is it significant?
'Kaduwela' and 'Clare' at 173 and 175 Tooronga Road, Glen Iris are of local architectural and aesthetic significance to the City of Stonnington.
Why is it significant?
'Kaduwela' and 'Clare' at 173 and 175 Tooronga Road, Glen Iris are architecturally, fine representative examples of substantial Victorian Italianate villas built for middle-class residents of Glen Iris during the boom years of the 1880s and early 1890s. The houses adopt the typical Italianate asymmetrical plan with two perpendicular stepped and canted projecting bays which, in the case of no. 173 is linked by a returning two-storey cast-iron verandah. They are two of a small number of nineteenth-century houses in Glen Iris. (Criteria B & D)
Aesthetically, the houses are distinguished by their fine cast and run render detailing. To the front canted projecting bays, the moulded architraves with vermiculated keystones distinguish the segmentally arched double-hung sash windows. Other render details such as the vermiculated panels between the sill and string courses, and the cornice supported by paired eaves brackets set between floral swags and rosettes provide further embellishments to the otherwise typical suburban Italianate form. The two-storey return verandah to no. 173 appears to be highly intact with high quality cast-iron work of a range of floral patterns which is also of note. Both houses retain their original iron palisade front fences with large masonry gate posts, which provide an appropriate setting. (Criterion E)
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Kaduwela & Clare - Physical Description 1
The residences at 173 and 175 Tooronga Road are examples of substantial late-Victorian two-storey Italianate villas that occupy elevated allotments on the west side of Tooronga Road, south of the intersection with High Street in Glen Iris. The residence known as 'Kaduwela' at no. 173 is set back behind a recent high masonry wall, which is set just back from what appears to be an original iron palisade fence with a large masonry gate post. The front garden retains a number of mature trees. No. 175, originally known as 'Clare', is set back on the rise behind a matching iron palisade fence and gate post. The pair of houses are a landmark in this part of Tooronga Road.
Constructed in 1891 the buildings are built to an asymmetrical plan with two perpendicular stepped and canted projecting bays which, in the case of no. 173 is linked by a returning two-storey cast-iron verandah (the verandah has been lost to no. 175). The asymmetrical plan form became popular during the 1880s, and in this respect the houses at 173 and 175 Tooronga Road stand as large but relatively typical suburban Italianate villas. The buildings have hipped roofs which are clad in terracotta tiles, which appears to be a later change (e.g., from slate). Their cornices are distinctive for the deep moulding supported by paired eaves brackets set between floral swags and rosettes.
Both projecting bays facing Tooronga Road are distinctive for the quality of cast and run cement render detailing. The bay windows feature segmentally arched double-hung sash windows with moulded architraves with vermiculated keystones that run into moulded imposts. Other render details to the projecting bay include vermiculated panels between the moulded sill and string courses. Other windows to the buildings are unadorned segmentally arched double-hung sash windows. The chimneys feature bold moulding, corbels, rosettes and vermiculated panels giving them a high level of detail.
The exterior of no. 173 appears remarkably intact as viewed and appreciated from Tooronga Road, despite alterations undertaken c2014. It retains its intact two-storey return verandah with high quality cast-iron work which utilises a range of floral patterns. Dental mouldings to the verandah beams at both levels add further embellishment to the composition. The alterations seem to have been mostly confined to a large addition to the rear of the building and a small ensuite addition to the southern elevation. The original iron palisade fence with large cement rendered piers, and bluestone plinth, remains intact in front of a new masonry wall.
The verandah at no. 175 has been replaced by side access stairs to the rear projecting bay. Real Estate photos of c2012 indicate that the building has been altered internally to accommodate individual apartments and an extension has been constructed to the rear of the building. A separate apartment building has also been constructed in the former rear yard. The iron palisade fence on a rock faced bluestone plinth has been retained to the front boundary.
Kaduwela & Clare - Local Historical Themes
This place illustrates the following themes, as identified in the Stonnington Thematic Environmental History (Context Pty Ltd, rev. 2009):
3.3.3 Speculators and land boomers
8.2.1 'Country in the city' - Suburban development in Malvern before WWI
Heritage Study and Grading
Stonnington - City of Stonnington Victorian Houses Study
Author: City of Stonnington
Year: 2016
Grading: A2
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MALVERN TRAM DEPOTVictorian Heritage Register H0910
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MALVERN TOWN HALLVictorian Heritage Register H2288
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HAROLD HOLT MEMORIAL SWIMMING CENTREVictorian Heritage Register H0069
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"1890"Yarra City
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'BRAESIDE'Boroondara City
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'ELAINE'Boroondara City
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