Sherratt House

Statement of Significance

Sherratt House has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
The place is associated with the Sherratt family, with Captain Thomas Sherratt, the son of Thomas Brooker Sherratt, and his wife being the first owners of the original store and residence. The Sherratt family were well-known and prominent residents and merchants in Albany, being among the first British settlers to arrive and live in Albany.
The place reflects the typical dwelling of a rising middle class that emerged from the commercial and service industries that developed around the port of Albany in the latter part of the 19th century particularly when Albany was the main port for Western Australia.
The place is one of a group of significant residences built during the Late Victorian/Federation period in Albany’s historic town centre and which were often used as boarding and guest houses owing to Albany’s growing popularity as a summer holiday resort.
Boarding/guest houses such as this were predominantly established and run by women making them an important and respectable avenue of work for local women at a time when other employment opportunities, especially for married women and even widows living in urban areas, were rare.

Physical Description

Some of the notable features of this place include:
• Set close to road - high streetscape value
• Low single storey brick and stone building with verandah across front elevation
• Painted rendered finish
• Asymmetrical facade - three windows on one side of front door - two windows on the other
• Timber framed sash windows
• Large hipped roof - verandah under main roof
• Timber verandah posts with decorative timber trim
• A single tall chimney remains

History

Sherratt House was built on original Lot 53 which was on the corner of Duke and Collie Streets – Collie Street initially named Stirling Street then Council Street. On the 1851 Chauncey map, Lot 53 was shown as owned by Philip Baker. By the late 1880s Captain Thomas Sherratt had acquired this land and built his store (facing Collie Street) and residence (facing Duke Street). A panorama photograph of Albany dated 1889 shows this house and also Sherratt’s General Store.

Thomas Sherratt was 5 years old when he arrived in Albany with his father Thomas Brooker Sherratt. The Sherratts were among the first British settlers to come to Albany in 1834 and make it their home. Not long after settling in Albany, Thomas Brooker Sherratt started up a whaling business and acquired several parcels of land, including Lots on the corner of Duke and Parades Streets (from Lot 48-52) where he built the Octagon Church in 1835. The Octagon Church was not only the first church built in Albany but the first built in Western Australia.

After Thomas Brooker Sherratt’s death in 1855 his three sons - John, Thomas and William - carried on the whaling business for a short time before dissolving the partnership. Initially trying out the hotel trade, Thomas (jnr) finally settled on continuing his father’s storekeeping and merchant trading business originally established at the bottom of York Street (refer Dalgety’s Wool Warehouse Proudlove Pde). By 1889 he transferred to new premises on the corner of Duke and Stirling Street where he built his store and family home. In addition to his business activities, Thomas was a member of the Albany Town Trust and served as a Town Councillor as well as being a church warden. He married twice his first wife was Emma Jenkins and had five sons – including Walter Pretious - and a daughter (Mary Amelia).

Thomas Sherratt died on 25th June 1895 aged 65. The store was taken over by his son, Walter Pretious (who owned/lived at Conelma at 61-61 Duke Street) and ran Sherratt’s Store until his death in 1939.

Thomas’s wife took over the management of the old residence, which became known as Mrs Sherratt’s Rooms and comprised eight rooms which she leased out as she now lived in Grey Street (refer 148 Grey Street). Mrs Sherratt also owned a nine-room house “Gresham House” in Stirling Street (now Collie Street) that she also leased out.

In November 1908, Mr D Thomas leased Sherratt House and started trading from here temporarily while he was waiting for his new big drapery emporium to be completed in York Street. Thomas then moved out in May 1909 (refer The Spot Cash Draper, 146 York Street).

Emma died at her Grey Street home on 7th March 1915. Sherratt House was then leased out and operated as a boarding house, run by various proprietresses, some of the first being Mrs Vaughan (until 1916), Mrs Arnold (until 1921), Miss Scotts (until 1924).

The store section was later demolished and the block redeveloped, leaving only Sherratt House that remains today.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Moderate
Authenticity: High/Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

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.