Holmehouse

Statement of Significance

Taken from the Statement of Significance prepared in 2006 in the documentation for the State Heritage Office. Holmehouse, Bassendean, a single storey tuck-pointed brick and corrugated iron house in the Federation Bungalow style, with a substantial set of reception rooms in a Federation Queen Anne style, located in extensive landscaped gardens, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
• the place is a rare example of an intact Federation bungalow residence in its original extensive garden setting and illustrates the type of home built in the early 1900s for the more affluent members of the wider Perth community;
• the place is a good example of the aesthetic characteristics of the Federation home specifically its elevated grassed open site, its banded tuck-pointed walls and graceful front verandah and internally the quality of detailed finishes;
• the place contributes to an understanding of the development of West Guildford (Bassendean) and specifically how this part of the suburb was settled by members of the professions and more wealthy middle classes and is a surviving example of the original concept of the subdivision of a ‘country estate’;
• the place was built by Charles Rickwood Wicks, a builder who achieved prominence in his
profession and was an active member of the West Guildford (Bassendean) community; and,
• the place is associated with the Clarkson family who were a prominent farming family in Toodyay. Barnard Drummond Clarkson named the place ‘Holmehouse’ after the family’s Yorkshire property.

Physical Description

Holmehouse, Bassendean is an impressive single storey tuck-pointed brick and corrugated-iron bungalow with the appearance of a homestead in a Federation Bungalow style. It stands prominently on a rise overlooking extensive lawns on its acre-and-a-half site, flanked by stands of trees. With the breadth of its front elevation, its deceptively simple massing, large reception rooms and graceful verandah on its elevated open site beside a reserve to the west, Holmehouse, Bassendean exhibits the aesthetic characteristics of a Federation home with the plan form redolent of a homestead. The front elevation is carefully contrived to provide an apparently simple roofline with tall chimneys behind the elevated linear verandah, its roof pierced by a square bay with a battlemented parapet, overlooking the extensive front lawns. The verandah roof is supported on 6” round timber columns with square capitals
across the breadth of the building. The roof is clad with reflective corrugated galvanised steel. The front elevation is tuckpointed with two bands of render. The verandah which runs right across the frontage and wraps partway back at each side, through a tripartite entry door with flanking leadlight casements into a wide entry hallway. The door and windows are leadlight as a set, and retain all their original hardware. The rear elevation demonstrates a more complex construction, with a substantial internal box-gutter over the internal cross-passage, appearing to mark the junction of two constructional phases. Internally the house consists of two main sections. The front section of the house comprises two large
reception rooms, a bedroom, kitchen and the entry hall in an L-shape, wrapping around the possibly earlier section, and all edged by the dominant verandah. The rear part of the house, two steps higher and separated by a cross passage under a box gutter, has its own roof and a typical ‘Federation house’ plan, with a central spine passage accessing rooms each side. This part consists of four bedrooms, drawing room, bathroom, storeroom (former servant’s room) and the back verandah which is partially enclosed to create another store.
A site visit in 2006 demonstrated that internally, the original internal mouldings joinery and fire-surrounds were intact, and demonstrated a high level of detail and craftsmanship.

History

Holmehouse was built in 1905 by builder Charles Rickwood Wicks as the residence for himself, his wife and two children.The land on which this residence is located was subdivided for residential development by Harry Francis Anstey. He purchased 100 acres of land in Bassendean, or West Guildford as it was then known, in 1897. The land was divided into 237 lots and Charles Ricks purchased four lots on which to build his family home in
1905/06. Charles Wicks was responsible for the design and construction of Holmehouse as well as many homes in the district. The layout of the home indicates that the family had live in servants as some of the rooms to the rear of the house are smaller and less ornamented.
In April 1907, the property was transferred to Isabella Clarkson the wife of Barnard Drummond Clarkson (1836-1909), pastoralist and Member of Parliament. Clarkson was an explorer and successful farmer in the Toodyay region where he served as a member and chairman of the Road Board before representing the region in parliament between 1890 and 1897. The physical evidence indicates that the house was built in two stages although no documentary evidence has currently been found to support this view. It is likely that changes would have been made at the time when the Clarkson’s moved to the residence which they named 'Holme house' after the Clarkson's property in Yorkshire. Following B.D. Clarkson's death in 1909, Isabella lived on in the house until her death in 1934. Subsequent owners and occupants of the residence were;
• Geoffrey Lukin (1938-c1947)
• George Johnson, school teacher (c1947-1964)
• Dudley and Mollie Stotter (1964-1984)
• Ronald and Marsha Snelgar (1984-2015)
The gardens and the residence have not significantly altered throughout the 20th century although a pool and new plantings have altered the original landscaping of the residence. During the period in which the residence was owned and occupied by the Clarkson’s the garden was full of fruit trees and traditional plants including a massive wisteria vine.

Integrity/Authenticity

High
High

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.