Hurley House
100 McCann Street CERES, GREATER GEELONG CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
'Hurley House' at 100 McCann Street, has significance as a representative but locally rare surviving example of a modest Victorian styled dwelling of timber construction in the Ceres village. Built in 1877 for John Hurley, farmer, quarryman, labourer and gardener, and his wife, Mary, the dwelling is predominantly intact and is a physical embodiment of 19th century rural residential life in the Ceres village that had been laid out as private subdivision by David Fisher in 1850. The significant fabric includes: single storey height and modest scale, hipped roof forms clad in corrugated sheet metal, hipped and concave roofed front verandah, timber weatherboard wall cladding, side chimneys with Barrabool stone breasts and Barrabool stone and brick shafts, central door opening with four panelled timber door, flanking timber framed twelve paned double hung windows, timber window sills, stop-chamfered timber posts with moulded timber capitals and the cast iron verandah brackets. The rear gabled wing represents an addition and has no significance.
How is it significant?
'Hurley House' at 100 McCann Street, Ceres, is historically and aesthetically significant at a LOCAL level.
Why is it significant?
'Hurley House' at 100 McCann Street has historical significance for its associations with rural life and residential development in the village of Ceres in the 1870s at a time when the small settlement was progressing as a centre for the surrounding farms and vineyards and other enterprises (Criterion A). Built in 1877 for John Hurley, farmer, gardener, labourer and quarryman, and his wife, Mary, the dwelling represents the only known house constructed in the 1870s in the Ceres village, 20 years following initial building development in the small farming settlement.
'Hurley House' at 100 McCann Street is aesthetically significant as a representative and intact example of a vernacular Victorian style, being one of very few examples of its type of timber construction original to its location in the Ceres area, and the only timber example original to the Ceres village (Criterion D). The vernacular design is especially identified in the modest scale and rudimentary detailing, the post-supported verandah with cast iron brackets being the only embellishments. While the dwelling reflects typical Victorian stylistic elements comparable in form, scale and some detailing to other locally significant 19th century dwellings in the Ceres village, 'Hurley House' also has a contextually unusual hipped roof composition with the articulation of the hipped roofs forming a roof valley that traverses the dwelling.
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Hurley House - Physical Conditions
The dwelling at 100 McCann Street, Ceres, is situated on a contextually modest, rural allotment at the northern end of McCann Street. The setting of the property is largely open and grassed, apart from a mature Cypress tree that dominates the front boundary. There is introduced timber post and rail fencing on the front (east) and side (south) boundaries, as well as rural post and wire fencing. To the north of the dwelling is an elevated single storey, gabled shed of recent construction.
The single storey, timber weatherboard, Victorian styled dwelling has a hipped roof form at the front, together with hipped roofs at the rear, the central roof valley traversing the dwelling and draining on the north side (rather than extending and draining to the rear). There is a corrugated sheet metal roof (painted grey) and no eaves or gutters. On the south side are two chimneys with original Barrabool stone external chimney breasts. The rear chimney has an original Barrabool stone shaft with additional seven brick courses at the top that appear to have been introduced in the early 20th century. The front (eastern) chimney shaft is of brick construction, the majority being of bricks that may date from the early 20th century, with a face red brick capping that has been added, possibly in the 1930s or 1940s.
The front (east) facade is symmetrical, having an original central door opening with four panelled timber door, and flanking timber framed twelve paned double hung windows. There are timber window sills but no architraves to the door or windows. The front is also characterised by an original hipped and concave verandah supported by stop-chamfered timber posts with moulded timber capitals. The bases to the verandah posts have been removed and replaced with stirrups. The verandah is adorned by cast iron brackets. The concrete verandah floor has been introduced.
At the rear is a gabled timber weatherboard wing that may have been added during the interwar period or mid 1940s. It has a painted corrugated sheet metal roof, modest eaves (with timber lined soffits) and an external brick chimney on the south side. On the north side of this wing is a shallow-pitched addition that is connected to the rear of the original dwelling.
Overall, the cottage appears to be in good condition when viewed from a distance. There seems to be some loose flashing adjoining the chimneys on the south side, and any previous gutters have been removed. There is some deterioration in the Barrabool stone chimneys. The cottage has high integrity, reflecting its original Victorian design. The most noticeable change is the concrete verandah floor and alterations to the bases of the verandah posts with stirrups.
Heritage Study and Grading
City of Greater Geelong - Ceres Heritage Citations Project
Author: Dr David Rowe
Year: 2018
Grading: Local
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