Back to search results
THE CANTERBURY
236 CANTERBURY ROAD ST KILDA WEST, PORT PHILLIP CITY
THE CANTERBURY
236 CANTERBURY ROAD ST KILDA WEST, PORT PHILLIP CITY
All information on this page is maintained by Heritage Victoria.
Click below for their website and contact details.
Victorian Heritage Register
THE CANTERBURY SOHE 2008
On this page:
Statement of Significance
What is significant?
The Canterbury, built in 1914, is one of Victoria's earliest surviving examples of flats in the modern sense of the word, with fully self-contained residences, each on one floor, within a multistorey building. Previously only older American and English models of flats, more akin to hotels or boarding houses, had been adopted in Melbourne. A nearby example is the Majestic Mansions of 1912 in Fitzroy Street.
The Canterbury was designed by the architect brothers HW and FB Tompkins for owner Mrs Gurney and its first three floors were built by W Picol (or possibly Picot) in 1914. The big boom in self-contained flat development in St Kilda would not occur until 1919-20, and only a very few developments of this kind survive from the intervening years. The storey added to the Canterbury in 1919 contained two flats, and the cap of the tower was relocated to a higher level.
The design of the Canterbury appears to have been influenced by a number of the contemporary stylistic fashions. Suggested influences include Queen Anne, American Romanesque, Arts and Crafts and English Free Style. The simple main mass of the building is finished in plain red brick and white painted plain stucco, with simple timber windows with expressed white frames. Several have stained glass decorative patterns at the centre of the lead light glazing. The angled front facade is formed of three main element, a narrow strip of plain red brick on the front boundary with a single window at each floor, a projecting octagonal turret with onion top cap, and a series of curved concrete balconies supported on squat ionic columns. Foliage patterns decorate the turret spandrels and the leadlight windows. The common staircase is not visible or expressed on the facade, as at this time flats with external staircases were associated with insalubrious lower class housing.
How is it significant?
The Canterbury is of historical and architectural importance to the State of Victoria
Why is it significant?
The Canterbury is of historical importance to the State of Victoria for its associations with the changes in social attitudes and lifestyles taking place in Melbourne, and manifesting especially in St Kilda, in the early twentieth century. The Canterbury was the precursor of a new residential building type which was to become dominant in St Kilda, and is a marker of the beginnings of high density and elevated living in Melbourne.
The Canterbury is of architectural and aesthetic importance for its idiosyncratic design, which has few close parallels. The Canterbury was one of the earliest explorations of the design requirements of a new residential building type. In the design of Canterbury a variety of features from various contemporary styles were integrated into an abstracted and novel form, recognisably residential but also showing large city building features. It is a rare example of domestic/residential work by the Tompkins brothers, who generally specialised in large commercial works.
The Canterbury is also important for the good aesthetic quality of its architecture, which successfully addresses the particulars of a narrow site, and proximity to the railway station and the high-density residential precinct of Fitzroy Street. The unusual compression of elements and asymmetry creates a dynamic facade for the narrow site. The angled facade and tower creates the impression of a corner building, and give a sophisticated address, to the busy intersection of Canterbury and Fitzroy Streets some distance off.
The Canterbury demonstrates rarity as a precursor in the introduction to Melbourne of a new building type. It is among the earliest extant self-contained walk up flat buildings in St Kilda, and in Melbourne as a whole.
The Canterbury, built in 1914, is one of Victoria's earliest surviving examples of flats in the modern sense of the word, with fully self-contained residences, each on one floor, within a multistorey building. Previously only older American and English models of flats, more akin to hotels or boarding houses, had been adopted in Melbourne. A nearby example is the Majestic Mansions of 1912 in Fitzroy Street.
The Canterbury was designed by the architect brothers HW and FB Tompkins for owner Mrs Gurney and its first three floors were built by W Picol (or possibly Picot) in 1914. The big boom in self-contained flat development in St Kilda would not occur until 1919-20, and only a very few developments of this kind survive from the intervening years. The storey added to the Canterbury in 1919 contained two flats, and the cap of the tower was relocated to a higher level.
The design of the Canterbury appears to have been influenced by a number of the contemporary stylistic fashions. Suggested influences include Queen Anne, American Romanesque, Arts and Crafts and English Free Style. The simple main mass of the building is finished in plain red brick and white painted plain stucco, with simple timber windows with expressed white frames. Several have stained glass decorative patterns at the centre of the lead light glazing. The angled front facade is formed of three main element, a narrow strip of plain red brick on the front boundary with a single window at each floor, a projecting octagonal turret with onion top cap, and a series of curved concrete balconies supported on squat ionic columns. Foliage patterns decorate the turret spandrels and the leadlight windows. The common staircase is not visible or expressed on the facade, as at this time flats with external staircases were associated with insalubrious lower class housing.
How is it significant?
The Canterbury is of historical and architectural importance to the State of Victoria
Why is it significant?
The Canterbury is of historical importance to the State of Victoria for its associations with the changes in social attitudes and lifestyles taking place in Melbourne, and manifesting especially in St Kilda, in the early twentieth century. The Canterbury was the precursor of a new residential building type which was to become dominant in St Kilda, and is a marker of the beginnings of high density and elevated living in Melbourne.
The Canterbury is of architectural and aesthetic importance for its idiosyncratic design, which has few close parallels. The Canterbury was one of the earliest explorations of the design requirements of a new residential building type. In the design of Canterbury a variety of features from various contemporary styles were integrated into an abstracted and novel form, recognisably residential but also showing large city building features. It is a rare example of domestic/residential work by the Tompkins brothers, who generally specialised in large commercial works.
The Canterbury is also important for the good aesthetic quality of its architecture, which successfully addresses the particulars of a narrow site, and proximity to the railway station and the high-density residential precinct of Fitzroy Street. The unusual compression of elements and asymmetry creates a dynamic facade for the narrow site. The angled facade and tower creates the impression of a corner building, and give a sophisticated address, to the busy intersection of Canterbury and Fitzroy Streets some distance off.
The Canterbury demonstrates rarity as a precursor in the introduction to Melbourne of a new building type. It is among the earliest extant self-contained walk up flat buildings in St Kilda, and in Melbourne as a whole.
Show more
Show less
-
-
-
-
LINDEN
Victorian Heritage Register H0213 -
HALCYON
Victorian Heritage Register H0775
-
THE MANSE
Victorian Heritage Register H0212
-
'NORWAY'
Boroondara City -
1 Mitchell Street
Yarra City -
-
-
