Larne Grove & Roxburgh St Precinct
1-31 and 4-26 LARNE GROVE, 1-23 and 2-24 ROXBURGH STREET, 23-33 DUNDAS STREET, and 30-36 MILTON CRESCENT, PRESTON, DAREBIN CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
This precinct comprises the properties at 1-31 & 4-26 Larne Grove, 1-23 & 2-24 Roxburgh Street, and 23-33 Dundas Street, Preston and Adams Park at the northern end of the precinct. It is a residential area comprising houses predominantly built during the inter-war period from c.1919 to c.1940. The Contributory houses in the precinct include Californian Bungalows and other inter-war villas and the consistent quality and single-storey scale of the built form and the extent to which development in key phases from the late 1920s through to the late 1930s and early 1940s are important characteristics of the precinct. The garden suburb character created by the consistent siting of houses behind garden setbacks with low front fences (the fences at 16 Larne, and 6, 17 & 19 Roxburgh are early or original to the house), and the views to Adams Park are also integral to the significance of the precinct.
Non-original alterations and additions to Contributory houses, front fences other than specified aboveand the houses at 3, 9, 24 & 24A Larne Grove, and1, 3, 10, 22 & 24 Roxburgh Street are not significant.
How is it significant?
The Larne Grove & Roxburgh Street precinct is of local historic, architectural and aesthetic significance to Darebin City.
Why is it significant?
Historically, the Larne Grove & Roxburgh Street precinct provides evidence of an important and rapid phase of suburban development of Preston during the inter-war period, which was stimulated by the improvements to public transport in the 1920s. The housing in the street is characteristic of medium scale suburban housing of the inter-war years. (AHC criteria A.4 &D.2)
The precinct has architectural and aesthetic significance as a fine example of an inter-war residential area, incorporating a small park, which is notable for the consistent quality of its built form and the high degree of intactness to the key phases of development. (AHC criteria D.2 & E.1)
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Larne Grove & Roxburgh St Precinct - Physical Description 1
This is an inter-war residential precinct, which predominantly comprises weatherboard and brick bungalows and villas on garden allotments. This precinct has a relatively cohesive collection of styles and housing types of the inter-war period, with relatively consistent deep set backs from their street boundaries behind mature gardens. The houses are also consistent in scale.
The houses constructed prior to 1930 predominantly consist of two main types; gable-fronted weatherboard bungalows and those with a transverse gable or hip roof with a projecting gable either containing a room or as a large porch. The houses dating from after 1930 (which are mostly located in Roxburgh Street) include a higher number of brick houses with hip tile roofs. Many of the houses have Arts & Crafts detailing such as shingling or half-timbering to the gable ends, and as detailing to windows. Verandahs or porches are often supported by chunky rendered or brick piers. Most houses have at least two plain brick chimneys. In some cases, groups of houses (e.g. 25-31 Larne, 12-20 Roxburgh) are either identical or have subtle variations in form and detailing, which suggest that they were constructed by the same builder.
Front fences are uniformly low and some are original (see below). The low front fences and uniformly deep front setbacks, some with mature gardens contributes to the 'garden suburb' character of the area. This is enhanced by the street tree plantings and the mature trees within Adams Park, and the views to Adams Park at the northern end of the two streets, whichare an important characteristic of the precinct.
The streets are also of interest as early examples of the use of cul-de-sacs - though this was probably more a consequence of the presence of the former clayhole/tip that later became Adams Park, which prevented the northern extension of the streets, rather than a conscious exercise in urban planning.
Dundas Street
The houses at 23-33 Dundas Street are contributory to the precinct. They include two bungalows at 23 and 25, which have similar form and detailing (Asymmetrical layout with a projecting gable at one end, verandah supported on square section fluted columns on rendered base), but different treatments of the roof to impart a sense of individuality - No.23 has a traverse gable with a separate, almost flat roofed verandah, while No.25 has a hip roof, which extends to form the verandah.Another, almost identical pair consists of the adjacent house at No.27 and the one at No.33. Both have a hip tile roof with a large projecting gable porch with a triple-arched front. A projecting bay window is to the left of the porch. Apart from the external materials (No.27 is constructed of pressed red brick, while No.33 is rendered with clinker brick detailing), there is subtle variation in the verandah detailing (The central arch to No.27 is supported by two slightly tapered fluted Tuscan order columns, while No.33 has square brick piers). No.27 is more intact and retains an original flight of steps, while the balustrade and steps to no.33 are not original. By comparison the two hipped roof houses at Nos. 29 and 31 are more restrained in decoration and show the influence of Moderne styling.
Larne Grove
Larne Grove, which developed first, predominantly comprises gable-fronted bungalows and those with a traverse gable or hip roof with projecting gable, as noted above. The houses at 25-31 (two on either side of opening to Adams Park) are of interest as they appear to have been constructed with the same builder and share similar characteristics. No.25 is most similar to No.31 - they have a hip roof, which extends to form a verandah and a projecting bay with a semi-circular bay window, while the window under the verandah is a triple, side hung casement. The verandah is supported by square brick and render columns. No.27 ('Park View) and No.29 are distinguished by their twisted detail to the upper section of the verandah pier. 'Park View' has a hip roof, while No.29 has a traverse gable. The triple-gable fronted houses at 19 and 21 are also quite similar.Exceptions to the weatherboard houses in the street include the brick houses at 5, 16, 18 and 20. They have hip tile roofs sometimes with a projecting hip or gable-fronted bay. No.18 is distinguished by a double-arched porch, while its neighbour at No.16 retains the original coloured render with tapestry brick detailing. It is also complemented by a fine original or early brick and wrought iron front fence and privet hedge. No.20 has been altered, but retains its characteristic form and some detailing and has an early garage set at the street frontage, an anomaly in the precinct where almost all other garages are set at the back of the houses.
The contributory houses in Larne Grove generally have a relatively high degree of intactness when viewed from the street, and the street as whole is relatively intact to the original period of development. The non-contributory houses are 2 & 24-24A (Postwar) and the very altered inter-war houses at 3 and 9.
Roxburgh Street
The housing in Roxburgh Street reflects the two periods of development before and after 1930. The earlier houses are the weatherboard bungalows, as already described, which, with one exception are located on the east side of the street - they include the houses at 4, 8, 12-20 and 15. By comparison with Larne Grove, however, Roxburgh Street has a higher proportion of brick or weatherboard houses with hip tile roofs dating from the mid-to-late inter-war period. Notable amongst these include:- The house at No.2, which incorporates a garage, an early example at a time when garages were usually still provided in separate buildings.
- No.6, which retains its original coloured render with tapestry brick detailing. It is similar to the house at 16 Larne Grove and also retains an early low brick fence. Another example is at No.9 Roxburgh.
- The brick villa at No.7 which has a semi-circular window with a deep shingled hood and angled chimney set at one corner.A feature of many of the houses in the street is a low brick front fence, some of which appear to be contemporary with the house and have similar detailing, for example, the brick and render fence with wrought iron detailing and gates at No.19, and the adjacent fence at No.17.
The contributory houses in Roxburgh Street generally have a relatively high degree of intactness when viewed from the street, and the street as whole is relatively intact to the original period of development. The non-contributory houses are Nos. 1, 3, 10, 22 and 24, which date from the post-war era after 1960.
Adams Park
Adams Park is situated at the northern end of the precinct and contributes to the garden suburb character. As noted in the History, like so many other parks in Darebin it was created on a site of a former brickworks. The informal layout and planting in the park, which comprises exotic trees set within lawns and a series of straight paths set on diagonal lines, is typical of the inter-war parks in Preston. Early plantings, probably associated with the establishment of the park include Canary Island Palms (Phoenix canariensis), Elms (Ulmus sp.) and Ash (Fraxinus sp.).Heritage Study and Grading
Darebin - Darebin Heritage Study
Author: Context P/L
Year: 2011
Grading: Local
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