Glanville's Buildings

Statement of Significance

Glanville's Buildings has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
the place demonstrates the idiosyncratic architectural style of Norman Hitchcock, who practised architecture in Melbourne and later in the metropolitan area at the turn-of-the century;

although altered internally, the restored exterior of the two-storey building is the best example of the full range of 'signature' details of Hitchcock;

apart from being a major example of Hitchcock's residential architecture in Western Australia, the place is a key link between Hitchcock's architectural design in Melbourne and Perth;

the place occupies a prime location, being particularly noticeable form the Swan River, the building is a Fremantle landmark; and, is valued by the community as a landmark building which reflects the exuberance of gold boom architecture at the tum-of-the century.

Aesthetic Value
Hitchcock had an idiosyncratic architectural style, which featured: pressed cement female faces to terminate corbelled party walls turned timber knobs, roman chariot wheels used as pediment brackets and stucco swags and rusticated panels, which he developed in Melbourne in the 1880s and continued to use
in Perth in the 1900s.

Glanville's Buildings has aesthetic significance as the principal example in metropolitan Perth of Hitchcock's decorative style.

Glanville's Buildings has a landmark quality. Occupying a prime location, it impacts on vistas from the Swan river. The proximity of the house to the river, and the vistas thereto, is important in establishing and retaining the landmark quality of the house.

Historic Value
As a major example of Hitchcock's architecture in both Perth and Melbourne, Glanville 'sBuildings has historic significance. It is the largest known example of Hitchcock 's design in Western Australia and demonstrates the continuity of his architectural work in the 1900s.

Social Value
Glanville's Buildings, because of its elevated location and proximity to the river, has gained some status as a local landmark.
The building contributes to the community' s sense of history and place which is reflected in the Town of East Fremantle's recognition of the building within their town planning scheme as a place of heritage value.

Rarity
Hitchcock designed a number of two, and even three-storey rows of terrace houses in Melbourne. However, Glanville's Buildings is the only known example of a two-storey terrace designed by Hitchcock in Western Australia.

Representativeness
Glanville's Buildings is a representative example of the exuberance of gold boom architecture and Hitchcock's idiosyncratic use of decorative details.

Physical Description

Condition.
Glanville's Buildings, has been well maintained by the current owners, following internal renovations and the restoration of the building's facade.

In 1994, the structure is in sound condition, although it does suffer, like a number of limestone buildings
in the area, from damp in the walls.
Glanville's Buildings is in sound condition. Integrity
The building is currently being used entirely for residential purposes. Despite alterations of the internal
spaces, Glanville's Buildings exhibits externally the characteristics of Hichcock's design and thus retains a moderate degree of integrity.

Authenticity
Sufficient original fabric of Glanville 's Buildings exists to permit recovery of the original internal spatial configuration at a later date, if required. In particular, Hitchcock's distinctive external decorative details are intact, or have been restored, and therefore the place retains a moderate level of authenticity.

History

Assessment 1997
Constructed 1902
Glanville 's Buildings was erected for Mr Herny Charles Glanville, a chemist of Market street, Fremantle, in 1902. The ground floor (street level) of the building housed tow shops: a pharmacy from which Mr. Glanville dispensed his potions, and a tailor shop operated by Rummer and Sweet. The basement and upper floors of the building were used for storage and the Glanville family's accommodation. The Glanville family owned the building until 1946.

Many immigrants, attracted by the prospects of good fortune and employment associated with the goldrush, brought new ideas and raised social expectations to Western Australia in the late 1890s. This was evident in the rapid growth of the building industry and the development of architecture in Western Australia. The distinctive residential architecture style of Glanville 's Buildings is one of the more obvious example of the transfer of architectural values from the eastern states to Western Australia at the turn-of- the-century.

The architect for Glanville 's Buildings was Norman Hitchcock, who came to Western Australia from Melbourne around the tum-of-the-century. In Melbourne, Hitchcock had established a reputation for his distinctive use of decorative details in speculative terrace housing in the suburbs of Carlton and Parkville. Caught up in the collapse of the Melbourne housing market and financial "crash", Hitchcock was declared insolvent in May 1891. Hitchcock was later listed in partnership with O.N. Nicholson in Melbourne, but then was not active, until he turned up practising architecture in Western Australia.

Hitchcock is first listed in Wise's Postal Directory as a practicing architect in High Street, Fremantle, in 1904, but the date, 1902, on Glanville 's Buildings indicates he was in practice in Fremantle at an earlier date. Apart from being an early example of Hitchcock's design in Western Australia, Glanville 's Buildings is the largest of his known Perth buildings. Hitchcock specialised in the design of small speculative housing, particularly in the Fremantle area. Hitchcock's work is notable for his repeated use of distinctive design and decorative details that makes his architecture easy to identify.

Other Hitchcock buildings in the East Fremantle area include: the 'George Street Mews', 107-121 George Street; terrace houses at 46-52 King Street; two semi-detached houses at 25-27 Sewell Street and a gable fronted detached house in Hubble Street.

After 1950, there were a variety of owners of the building, and Glanville 's Buildings was subject to at least two major renovations of the interior. In 1981, Bradley Kelsall, Architects, converted the existing four flats into two strata units. In 1993, one of the two units was internally modified by architect Walter Hunter.
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Glanville’s Buildings is a three-storey building built for retail purposes with living quarters above.

The building is situated on a high bank at the southern end of the property which addresses Canning Highway. The property extends down the embankment to Riverside Road, which follows the Swan River. Glanville's Buildings occupies a prime location which is noticeable from the Swan Riverhe houses of Norman Hitchcock, in Melbourne and Perth, display a distinctive array of decorative details. These include pressed cement female faces to terminate corbelled party walls, cement putti set in a gable niche, scalloped barge boards with 'tear drop', turned timber knobs, roman chariot wheels used as pediment brackets, semi-circular pressed cement chimney baffles, stucco swags and rusticated panels. Hitchcock's combinations of these decorative elements provide a theatrical effect to what are otherwise relatively modest buildings.

Glanville's Buildings exhibits many of Hitchcock's 'signature' details. Spread over a two-storey facade the contrast of stucco decoration against tuckpointed brickwork is quite overwhelming, and quite unlike any other building in Perth.

The building's conversion to two residential units, in 1981, changed the building's principle entrance to the rear of the building. Pedestrian and vehicular access is now from Riverside Road. Steps lead from the shared carport off Riverside Road to the ground floor. The steps separate retaining walls, that encase gardens. The building's entrance at the ground floor is approached across a paved court.

Except for an awning out over the footpath and the "roman wheels" in pediment brackets, the Canning Highway facade has been restored to its original design. Render and paint was removed, brickwork tuckpointed and stucco mouldings replaced. As retail activities have given way to residential purposes the interior spaces have been subjected to a number of modifications. Some internal walls, floors, windows (on the back wall) and interior details have been modified, and it is now not easy to recognise the original spatial configuration of shops and residence within the building.

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Historic Themes

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This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.