St Hilary
2 Hilary Grove GLEN IRIS, STONNINGTON CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
'St Hilary', formerly 'Charleville', at 2 Hilary Grove, Glen Iris, is significant. A seven-room
house was built in 1857-58 for Irish immigrant John Fitzgerald and designed by architect
Patrick Scanlan. The house was subsequently enlarged in the late 1860s with two new
bedrooms added, and another two to four rooms (including a conservatory) were built by
1911. Also around 1911, the return verandah was replaced or remodelled with extensive timber
fretwork.
The house has masonry walls finished with ruled render, and the low hipped roof is clad in
slates. The front (west) elevation is dominated by two semi-hexagonal bays at the north end,
and a return verandah to the south.
The house is significant to the extent of its 1857-c1911 fabric, that is the entire envelope of the
house including walls, roofscape, and verandah. The southern garage wing and the front picket
fence are not significant.
How is it significant?
'St Hilary', formerly 'Charleville', is of local historical, architectural and aesthetic significance
and rarity value to the City of Stonnington.
Why is it significant?
It is historically significant and of rarity value as the oldest surviving house in Glen Iris. It is
also one of the small number of pre-1860 buildings associated with the early crown land sales,
and demonstrates how the early purchasers chose the very desirable high ground. As one of
the early estates in the Glen Iris area, John Fitzgerald's 'Charleville' helped to shape the early
settlement and occupation of the area; for example, until 1872, Burke Road was known as
Charleville Road. (Criteria A & B)
'St Hilary' is also significant for its association with Irish immigrant and early Melbourne
architect Patrick Stack Scanlan (1824-1864) of Fitzroy. He was active in the 1850s, preparing
plans for a number of shops and hotels, for a predominantly Irish Catholic clientele, including
prestigious commissions such as St Patrick's College, East Melbourne (1854, demolished).
Little survives of Scalan's buildings, making 'St Hilary' important in understanding his work.
(Criterion H)
'St Hilary' is architecturally and aesthetically significant as an early house that demonstrates a
transition from the Georgian style to the Italianate. Details such as the elegantly curved and
chamfered modillions to the eaves are typical of Georgian houses. The asymmetry, low hipped
roof, and the semi-hexagonal bays grouped around the north end of the house demonstrate the
picturesque qualities of the new Italianate style. The c1911 timber verandah is also of note for
the elaborate Art Nouveau fretwork to the entrance portico. (Criteria D & E)
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St Hilary - Physical Description 1
Physical description
'St Hilary', formerly 'Charleville', is a single-storey rendered masonry dwelling that stands at the
east end of Hilary Grove. While it has lost much of its original grounds in the 1920s
subdivision, it retains a generous front garden with a curved driveway leading past the house,
in the same alignment as seen in the 1930s, and a large side garden to the north. It sits behind a
high, reproduction picket fence, but is clearly visible through the front vehicular gates.The house is large and elongated in plan, running north-south. The roof is hipped with a low
pitch and very complex form, reflecting its expansion over time, as well as the decorative
massing of the two canted bays and the north-west corner and the rectangular bay at the centre
of the front verandah, each of which has a separate hipped roof form. The entire roof is
covered in slates, which appear to have been recently renewed. Three chimneys are visible
from the public domain, all of which have terracotta pots and are rendered with a heavy run
cornice and small brackets framing the central part of the shaft. The wide eaves rest on closely
spaced timber modillions with a decorative scrolled profile and chamfered end.Wall are of ruled render, and windows sit within run render architraves. Atop the windows in
the two canted bays are cast ornament in the form of an anthemion framed by floral volutes.
The windows are one-over-one double-hung sashes, with a blind window for symmetry on the
west face of the northern canted bay. The windows to the canted bays have shutters that retain their original hinges and stays. While louvered shutters are visible on the house in photos of
the 1930s and '40s, these have since been replaced with solid panelled shutters.The front door is located just to the south of the canted bays, set beneath the north end of the
long return verandah. The door retains two fielded panels with bolection mouldings at the
bottom, below a large square area of glazing and two small glazed panels that replaced timber
panels. Beside it is a round window (c1911), and to the south of that, a pair of French doors
with panelling to the lower third, which may be an early survivor.The verandah is timber framed and retains a tessellated tile floor with bluestone nosing. The
posts and fretwork are in keeping with the Federation period, including turned timber posts, a
ladder-back frieze and delicate curved brackets. The verandah roof is almost flat, and may have
been replaced with this low pitch during the interwar era (as this flat roof with metal decking is
visible in a c1930 photo). Below the roof, the curved eave modillions seen on the roof are
repeated. The focal point of the verandah is the gabled entrance portico, which has multiple
layers of ornament. The gable has a fret bargeboard, in keeping with the Gothic Revival style, a
cast ornament in the tympanum similar to that seen above the windows, and below that an
arch created by floral openwork in the Art Nouveau style. A second archway of Art Nouveau
fretwork sits behind the first.Apart from the replacement of the shutters, the front facade of the house appears to be
unchanged since the interwar period. It also appears to be intact to the c1911 redecoration that
resulted in the new verandah, though the verandah roof may have been changed in pitch, and
we know that part of the rear wing was demolished as part of the subdivision. Also, a garage
wing has been added to the south end of the house, with a similar hipped roof. It is set back
and is not visible from Hilary Grove.St Hilary - Local Historical Themes
This place illustrates the following themes, as identified in the Stonnington Thematic Environmental
History (Context rev. 2009):3.5 Immigrating to seek opportunity
The house is of historic interest for its association with John Fitzgerald, a prominent early
resident of Gardner (now Glen Iris).3.3.2 Crown land sales 1854-1879
6.1.1 Farming & market gardens
Assessment against criteriaAssessment of this place was carried out in relation to the HERCON model criteria as set out
in the VPP Practice Note 'Applying the Heritage Overlay' (2015).Heritage Study and Grading
Stonnington - City of Stonnington Victorian Houses Study
Author: City of Stonnington
Year: 2016
Grading: A2
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MALVERN HOUSEVictorian Heritage Register H0379
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HAROLD HOLT MEMORIAL SWIMMING CENTREVictorian Heritage Register H0069
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Lower Burke Road Precinct, Glen IrisBoroondara City
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