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Halstead
12 Lansell Road,, TOORAK VIC 3142 - Property No B7063
Halstead
12 Lansell Road,, TOORAK VIC 3142 - Property No B7063
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Statement of Significance
What is significant? Halstead was constructed in 1916 for Frances Clements, a 'gentleman' who had lived across the road. After 1939 it was occupied by noted businessman, Sir William Raws. By the late 1990s, it was run down and proposed to be replaced with apartments, but was instead restored.
The house was designed by noted Arts & Crafts architect Walter Butler.
It is a textured rendered brick structure with a low hipped roof, the remaining original front section being single storied. It has restrained detailing in an Arts & Crafts manner and a Colonial Bungalow influenced form. It has an imposing presence from the street as it is set well back on a site that slopes upward from the street, with axially aligned terracing leading up to the front door. A flight of steps leads up to a generous gravelled parking / drop-off area, from which further central steps lead up to the main balustraded terrace, which is continuous with the area under the verandah, and includes built-in planter boxes. The main facade is dominated by a long parapet with a narrow applied eave extending across the front, brought forward by a projecting bay window at the north end. The main part of the parapet is supported on paired columns on tall plinths with shared capitals, allowing the terrace to flow through into a verandah. There is a large bay window in the form of a 1/2 circle forming the south corner, partly projecting within the verandah.
All windows are iron framed casements, with multipaned leaded glazing, and custom designed fasteners. The simple elegant chimneys have subtle simple decorative Art Nouveau mouldings.
The main rooms are generously scaled, and feature restrained Arts & Crafts detailing, such as Mountain Ash timber floors and joinery such as fireplace surrounds and delicate plaster ceiling trim. The main hall features a panelled ceiling and leaded skylight, the sitting room is dominated by the corner bow window, and both feature timber wall panelling. The billiard room to the rear has a huge window to the rear garden courtyard, and features a beamed timber ceiling, and a notable face-brick fireplace and surround. The twin rear bedrooms have been opened into one, and the main bathroom extended and modernised. The main bedroom and study remain unaltered. The large dining room is also intact, and opens on to a rear hall, in what is essentially a new rear double storey wing.
How is it significant? Halstead is significant for architectural reasons at the Regional level
Why is it significant? Architecturally, the house is a highly unusual and distinctive design, displaying the skills and interests of Walter Butler when his career was at a high point
The parapeted roof form with an applied projecting eave and the paired columns with shared capitals of the front verandah are the most distinctive features of the building, displaying a rare British colonial / Indian or South Asian Dutch influence.
The restrained use of decoration and use of simple bold massing with simple, elegant leaded fenestration also display the influence of the Arts & Crafts movement. The use of a raised formal terrace, extending the house into the garden, which is also terraced down towards the street, is also unusual.
As with many Butler designs, there are many innovations in the detailing. Many were introduced here well before they became commonly adopted, particularly the metal framed windows, which are amongst the earliest known, the use of Mountain Ash for the internal joinery, and the gridded skylight in the main hall.
The house and grounds are also an important element of a small precinct of houses from the early 1920s immediately adjoining, most with a similar setback, in that part of Lansell Road.
Classified: 03/12/2007
The house was designed by noted Arts & Crafts architect Walter Butler.
It is a textured rendered brick structure with a low hipped roof, the remaining original front section being single storied. It has restrained detailing in an Arts & Crafts manner and a Colonial Bungalow influenced form. It has an imposing presence from the street as it is set well back on a site that slopes upward from the street, with axially aligned terracing leading up to the front door. A flight of steps leads up to a generous gravelled parking / drop-off area, from which further central steps lead up to the main balustraded terrace, which is continuous with the area under the verandah, and includes built-in planter boxes. The main facade is dominated by a long parapet with a narrow applied eave extending across the front, brought forward by a projecting bay window at the north end. The main part of the parapet is supported on paired columns on tall plinths with shared capitals, allowing the terrace to flow through into a verandah. There is a large bay window in the form of a 1/2 circle forming the south corner, partly projecting within the verandah.
All windows are iron framed casements, with multipaned leaded glazing, and custom designed fasteners. The simple elegant chimneys have subtle simple decorative Art Nouveau mouldings.
The main rooms are generously scaled, and feature restrained Arts & Crafts detailing, such as Mountain Ash timber floors and joinery such as fireplace surrounds and delicate plaster ceiling trim. The main hall features a panelled ceiling and leaded skylight, the sitting room is dominated by the corner bow window, and both feature timber wall panelling. The billiard room to the rear has a huge window to the rear garden courtyard, and features a beamed timber ceiling, and a notable face-brick fireplace and surround. The twin rear bedrooms have been opened into one, and the main bathroom extended and modernised. The main bedroom and study remain unaltered. The large dining room is also intact, and opens on to a rear hall, in what is essentially a new rear double storey wing.
How is it significant? Halstead is significant for architectural reasons at the Regional level
Why is it significant? Architecturally, the house is a highly unusual and distinctive design, displaying the skills and interests of Walter Butler when his career was at a high point
The parapeted roof form with an applied projecting eave and the paired columns with shared capitals of the front verandah are the most distinctive features of the building, displaying a rare British colonial / Indian or South Asian Dutch influence.
The restrained use of decoration and use of simple bold massing with simple, elegant leaded fenestration also display the influence of the Arts & Crafts movement. The use of a raised formal terrace, extending the house into the garden, which is also terraced down towards the street, is also unusual.
As with many Butler designs, there are many innovations in the detailing. Many were introduced here well before they became commonly adopted, particularly the metal framed windows, which are amongst the earliest known, the use of Mountain Ash for the internal joinery, and the gridded skylight in the main hall.
The house and grounds are also an important element of a small precinct of houses from the early 1920s immediately adjoining, most with a similar setback, in that part of Lansell Road.
Classified: 03/12/2007
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