FORMER PRESBYTERIAN MANSE

97-105 RATHDOWNE STREET CARLTON, MELBOURNE CITY

WORLD HERITAGE ENVIRONS AREA

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Victorian Heritage Register

FORMER PRESBYTERIAN MANSE SOHE 2008

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • History

    FORMER PRESBYTERIAN MANSE - History

    Contextual History:
    St Andrews Church (the Gaelic Church) was constructed on the north west corner of Queensberry and Rathdowne Streets, Carlton in 1854-55. It was opened in May 1855. It was a Free Presbyterian Church. The architect was George Reilly Cox and the contractors were James Lawrence and William Murray. The church was constructed of bluestone and brick with concrete buttresses. The transepts constructed in 1873 to the designs of architect Leonard Terry. The contractor was Lockington. The church was demolished in 1938 and the stone used to build a church in Gardiner (Glen Iris) in 1939 (Hubbard, Melbourne University, 1977).
    
    History of Place:
    The original allotment covered two acres on the northern side of Queensberry Street, between Rathdowne and Drummond Streets. The church was built in 1854 and 1855 for the Gaelic Scots, whose earlier services were conducted in Gaelic. The stone of the church was later rebuilt into the Gardiner Presbyterian Church on a commanding site at 253 Burke Road, Gardiner (Robertson, National Trust of Australia (Victoria), 1974 pp.29, 30, 32).
    
    Initially the northernmost acre was not formally conveyed to the Trustees of the Congregation, and the Lands Department refused to give a title until the manse should be built. Accordingly, fourteen years after the church was built, the committee decided to recommend that the congregation commence building operations without delay (Robertson, National Trust of Australia (Victoria), 1974 pp.29, 30, 32).
    
    Under the guidance of Leonard Terry as architect, the contractors, Messrs Downie and Sturgess, proceeded with the work in 1868. By the early part of the following year the minister, who had previously resided in Royal Terrace, Nicholson Street, was able to take up his abode in a handsome, substantially built house. The cost of the building was £1866 16s 10d and the whole amount was paid off by the end of the following year (Robertson, National Trust of Australia (Victoria), 1974 pp.29, 30, 32).
    
    The building remained in the hands of the Presbyterian Church until the formation of the Uniting Church in 1977 and the subsequent sale of the property to the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. For many years the building formed part of Rolland House, a residential deaconess training college (Appendix History for finance application 1984/85 on File 603912).
    
    The Architect
    
    Leonard Terry (1825-1884) was born at Scarborough, Yorkshire, the son of a timber merchant and came to Melbourne in 1853. He had his own practice as an architect by 1856 and became the principal designer of banks and buildings for the Anglican Church within Victoria, being appointed diocesan architect in 1860. His best known works include the Melbourne Club (1858) and a number of churches of which the most intact is Holy Trinity Williamstown (1870-74). In 1874 Percy Oakden became his junior partner in the architectural firm of Terry and Oakden. Leonard Terry’s works outside Victoria include the former Union Bank Building, Launceston and the Bank of New Zealand in Auckland (Serle, Melbourne University Press, p. 257).

    Assessment Against Criteria

    FORMER PRESBYTERIAN MANSE - Assessment Against Criteria

    Criterion A
    The historical importance, association with or relationship to Victoria's history of the place or object.
    
    The Former Manse and surviving stables structure are of historical importance as survivors of the St Andrews church complex. The complex once extended to the corner of Rathdowne and Queensberry Streets and was a dominant feature in Rathdowne Street opposite the gardens and Exhibition Building.
    
    

    Criterion B
    The importance of a place or object in demonstrating rarity or uniqueness.
    
    The verandah demonstrates a distinct use of the combination of timber and cast iron in the verandah decoration.
    
    

    Criterion C
    The place or object's potential to educate, illustrate or provide further scientific investigation in relation to Victoria's cultural heritage.
    

    Criterion D
    The importance of a place or object in exhibiting the principal characteristics or the representative nature of a place or object as part of a class or type of places or objects.
    

    Criterion E
    The importance of the place or object in exhibiting good design or aesthetic characteristics and/or in exhibiting a richness, diversity or unusual integration of features.
    
    The Former Manse is of architectural importance for its verandah with its distinct use of a combination of timber and iron. The verandah includes delicate balusters, narrow and wide pair columns with unusual capitals, and cast iron friezes framed in wood. Internally the stair and associated areas are significant features. The Former Presbyterian Manse is an important example of a residential work of architect Leonard Terry. The Former Manse is enhanced by its relationship to the Carlton Gardens.
    
    

    Criterion F
    The importance of the place or object in demonstrating or being associated with scientific or technical innovations or achievements.
    

    Criterion G
    The importance of the place or object in demonstrating social or cultural associations.
    

    Criterion H
    Any other matter which the Council considers relevant to the determination of cultural heritage significance

    Permit Exemptions

    FORMER PRESBYTERIAN MANSE - Permit Exemptions

    General Exemptions:

    General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

    Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

    Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

    Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

    Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

    Specific Exemptions:

    General Conditions:
    1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object.
    2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible.
    3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it.
    4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions.
    5. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable.
    
    Exterior
    *Minor repairs and maintenance which replace like with like.
    *Removal of any extraneous items such as air conditioners, pipe work, ducting, wiring, antennae, aerials etc, and making good.
    *Installation or repair of damp-proofing by either injection method or grouted pocket method.
    *Regular garden maintenance.
    
    Interior
    *Painting of previously painted walls and ceilings provided that preparation or painting does not remove evidence of the original paint or other decorative scheme.
    *Removal of paint from originally unpainted or oiled joinery, doors, architraves, skirtings and decorative strapping.
    *Installation, removal or replacement of carpets and/or flexible floor coverings.
    *Installation, removal or replacement of curtain track, rods, blinds and other window dressings.
    *Installation, removal or replacement of hooks, nails and other devices for the hanging of mirrors, paintings and other wall mounted artworks.
    *Refurbishment of bathrooms, toilets including removal, installation or replacement of sanitary fixtures and associated piping, mirrors, wall and floor coverings.
    *Installation, removal or replacement of kitchen benches and fixtures including sinks, stoves, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers etc and associated plumbing and wiring.
    *Installation, removal or replacement of ducted, hydronic or concealed radiant type heating provided that the installation does not damage existing skirtings and architraves and provided that the location of the heating unit is concealed from view.
    *Installation, removal or replacement of electrical wiring provided that all new wiring is fully concealed and any original light switches, pull cords, push buttons or power outlets are retained in-situ. Note: if wiring original to the place was carried in timber conduits then the conduits should remain in-situ.
    *Installation, removal or replacement of bulk insulation in the roof space.
    *Installation, removal or replacement of smoke detectors

    Permit Exemption Policy

    FORMER PRESBYTERIAN MANSE - Permit Exemption Policy

    The main importance of this former manse lies in its front double storey verandah with its unusual use of the combination of timber and cast iron and the cast iron pair columns. The interior floor plan is relatively intact and should be protected, along with the central staircase. Restoration or reinstatement of missing decorative elements should be encouraged. The former stables have been altered, however their form and position should be retained.

    The registered place is located within the declared World Heritage Environs Area for the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens. In accordance with the permit considerations set out in the Heritage Act 1995, proposed works to the registered place must consider:

    - the effect of the works on the World Heritage values of the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens; and

    - the approved "World Heritage Environs Area Strategy Plan: Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens" (Department of Planning and Community Development, 2009).

    The Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000, as they relate to actions that may impact on World Heritage values, must also be considered.

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