Mombah (former)

9 Widford Street, HAWTHORN EAST, BOROONDARA CITY

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Boroondara City

Mombah, 9 Widford Street Hawthorn East

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • Physical Description 1

    Mombah (former) - Physical Description 1

    Description & Integrity

    The house is attic-storey, red-brick, with a roughly rectangular plan and asymmetric roof line consisting of a principal gable running north-south with projecting gables to the front and rear. The upper storey is largely concealed under steeply pitched gables with terra-cotta shingle roof. The projecting front gable resolves into a rounded turret form over a first-floor bay window and ground level entry porch. 

     

    Broad timber bargeboards are fastened with rivets onto the gable ends. The front gable bargeboards curve from the turret all the way to the ground, framing the entire projecting wing, reminiscent of the vernacular form of cruck-framed buildings. This shallow wing is slightly asymmetrical, with a porthole window to the larger south side of the entry. This side is reminiscent of a catslide roof. The porch is round, incorporating timber framing and brick nogging beneath a bay window. The porch and windows on either side of the door are detailed with rows of tall narrow timber balusters, currently painted white. A light bracket with lantern is located at the front of the turret above the entry between the porch and the bay window. The rounded turret porch and bay retains its original form and detailing including turned timber balusters, timber frames, lantern, and seven-windowed bay. The windows consist of twelve panes each. A triple sash window with panes above a planter box was in the original design but is currently obscured by the garden. A large streamlined brick chimney rises at the end of the northern gable. 

     

    Stylistically, the house demonstrates an Old English Revival design interpreted with a distinctive modern and individual flair. The round porthole window evokes the Moderne style. Prominent fascias contribute to the rustic cottage look, while the turret form above the rounded entry evokes the English Revival or Provencal style with its ‘Mediaeval’ references. The north and south gables off street demonstrate a more traditional interwar bungalow form, with timber bargeboards, timber work and ventilation grille in the apex and timber framed sash windows. 

     

    The house is intact externally. The footprint of the house fronting onto Widford Street appears identical to the 1930s. Comparison with the 1930 Home Beautiful plan and photographs show the house is mostly unchanged. The low garden wall is typical of interwar English Revival within a rustic garden setting, however it replaced a similarly low brick garden fence that was part of the original design. The original brick fence posts remain at either end, and the original brick footings of the fence are visible. The sleepout on the southeast corner has been filled in with sympathetic windows. The original dark painted colour scheme on the porch turret form has been replaced with white to match the bargeboards. The original garage has been demolished and replaced in the postwar period. The rear extension is a more recent addition. It is not known when the large trees and garden scheme were added, but these are not noted in the Australian Home Beautiful article. Given that views from the bay window were an important consideration of the site, it seems unlikely that the front canopy tree would have been conceived as part of the original design. The 1930 photograph of the house shows a more modest front garden planting. The balusters and lantern are intact on the porch. The original chimney is also intact. 

    Heritage Study and Grading

    Heritage Study and Grading

    Boroondara - Municipal-Wide Heritage Gap Study Volume 6: Hawthorn East

    Author: Context
    Year: 2018
    Grading:

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