The Manor House
4 Dryden St HAMILTON, Southern Grampians Shire
St Ronan's Precinct Hamilton
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Statement of Significance
SIGNIFICANCE: Built in 1862 for J McSheehy, engineer Dundas Roads Board, this house has also been occupied by several local doctors until 1930 and is notable for its elegant architecture and as a landmark.
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The Manor House
4 Dryden St
The Manor House is of regional significance for its association with various owners, for the simple elegance of its architecture and as a landmark. It was built in 1862, according to the date scratched into one of the quoins, for John McSheehy, the first engineer with the Dundas Roads Board and later Borough ([i]), who may have designed the building. ([ii]) It seems that he never lived there but was forced to sell to his mortgagor, Samuel Pratt Winter Cooke of Murndal. ([iii]) It was occupied for several decades by Hamilton doctors including Dr J.R. Wylie in the 1870s ([iv]), Dr Arthur Bennett, a Hamilton mayor, from 1887 to 1930 ([v]) and Dr R. W. Brown in the 1960s. ([vi]) Two brothers, retired pastoralists, first John and later Donald McLellan, lived there. ([vii])
This noteworthy mid-Victorian era house of substantial scale has importance as the best example in Hamilton of a popular domestic style of the 1860s. ([viii]) It was very well built. The house uses several materials which are notable, such as slate for the roof and Grampians (Mt Sturgeon) sandstone for the quoins. ([ix]) The tall French doors opening out to the verandah and the view are especially fine not having any vertical subdivisions. Particularly interesting is the chance to compare the original timber verandah with the cast iron verandah. Most unusually for Hamilton in the nineteenth, the house is set at an angle to the street to maximise its aspect. The house remains significantly intact and is in excellent condition. It is one of the key components in its streetscape. The garden includes an important Magnolia grandiflora, Bull Bay.
[i] Hamilton Spectator, 11 November 1865. Advt. for sale of property, National Trust of Aust (Vic), File No 2140.
[ii] The original drawings are said to be held by the Hamilton Historical Society but cannot be found.
[iii] Conversation with present owners quoting old law title details.
[iv] Garden D, Hamilton, p 92.
[v] Ibid, p 123 and National Estate Citation.
[vi] HSA DP 887.
[vii] Garden, p 120.
[viii] National Estate Citation.
[ix] Knight, R, Windows to Yesterday, p 29.
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The Manor House - Physical Description 1
MATERIALS:
Roof: slate
Walls: rock face bluestone
Dressings: timber or cement render
Plinth: bluestone
Windows: timber French doors
Paving: gravel (remnants of asphalt)
Other: original (?) timber verandah on
Dryden St side and cast iron verandah
on Market Place side;
Grampians sandstone quoins
NOTABLE FEATURES:surviving timber verandah; French doors; Grampians (Mt Sturgeon) sandstone quoins; rare use of slate; cellar.The Manor House - Historical Australian Themes
ASSOCIATED HISTORIC THEMES
Government Institutions: Local/Municipal
Professions: Doctors
Health: Doctors
Squatting: Pastoralists
The Manor House - Integrity
Integrity: E
The Manor House - Physical Conditions
Conditions: E
Heritage Study and Grading
Southern Grampians - City of Hamilton Conservation Study
Author: Timothy Hubbard with Carlotta Kellaway & Michael Looker (plus Francis Punch)
Year: 1991
Grading: B
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MECHANICS INSTITUTEVictorian Heritage Register H2171
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HAMILTON BOTANIC GARDENSVictorian Heritage Register H2185
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NAPIER CLUBVictorian Heritage Register H1079
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'CARINYA' LADSONS STOREVictorian Heritage Register H0568
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1 Botherambo StreetYarra City
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