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Cestria
521 Glenferrie Road HAWTHORN, Boroondara City
Glenferrie Hill Precinct, Hawthorn

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Boroondara City
Hawthorn Heritage study 1992
Hawthorn Heritage study 1992
Hawthorn Heritage study 1992
Hawthorn Heritage study 1992
Hawthorn Heritage study 1992
Hawthorn Heritage study 1992
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Statement of Significance

Significance of Individual Property

1. One of the earliest uses of romanesque Revival in Melbourne, and a rare mansion house in this style.

2. "Cestria" has significance as one of the first and arguably the greatest American Romanesque Revival house in Australia. It is of architectural signficance for the survival of many interior features, especially the woodwork of the entrance/stair hall with its mahogany and American walnut staircase. The large west dining-room is also substantially intact with wallpapers and decoration from the time of the first owner.

HO149 Glenferrie Hill Precinct, Hawthorn

Glenferrie Hill Precinct, Hawthorn, is an area of heritage significance for the following reasons:

- The place contains a number of outstanding examples of Victorian and early Federation-style villas, combined with a series of well-designed and visually striking interwar houses and flats. Anchored by the visually prominent boulevard-like stretch of Glenferrie Road climbing past Scotch College, the place is representative of the changing patterns of development from the second half of the nineteenth century through to the interwar period.

- The southern edges of the precinct are reinforced by the Callantina Road housing, and Scotch College and the HA Smith Reserve which border the precinct.

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    • Physical Description 1

      Cestria - Physical Description 1

      A tour-de-force in the Romanesque revival style for dwellings - in this case a huge dwelling, amongst the largest mansions in Hawthorn. Executed in red brick with rendered dressings and slate roof, the designing is a three storey "L" shape form with the centre filled in with a two storey abutment to the four stage tower. The ends of the "L" are gabled, the top floor being contained within the roof and given light by grouped openings in arcade form. The eaves are heavily bracketed to the gable ends and to the hipped roof of the tower. Grouped arcade elements are also used on the first floor of the tower in the extended abutment, and four square headed openings under a single large arch are the terminating feature of the top stage of the tower. At ground floor level access is gained via a giant half circle arch under the tower. The roof is simply executed in gabled form with slate and terracotta ridging. Tall grouped chimney stacks in red brick and render rise out of the roof, to further emphasise the vertical qualities of the overall composition. The mansion is prominently located on the peak of the hill close to the road and set in substantial grounds.

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Boroondara - Hawthorn Heritage study 1992

      Author: Meredith Gould, Conservation Architects
      Year: 1992
      Grading: A


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