Three Houses

Statement of Significance

Attached House, 20 Charles Street, one of a set of three (with 22 and 24 Charles Street), single storey, brick and iron terraces has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

the place is a fine example of the Federation Queen Anne style of architecture;

the place has landmark qualities and contributes significantly to the streetscape and the community's sense of place;

the place is an intergral part of the Stirling Street Precinct.

Physical Description

Attached House, 20 Charles Street is one of a set of three (with 22 and 24 Charles Street), single storey, brick and iron terraces with an overall asymmetrical facade designed as an example of the Federation Queen Anne style of architecture. The walls are rendered brick. The terraces are under one continuous roof. The roof is hipped and gabled with decorative timber elements to gable ends and clad with corrugated iron. The façade is asymmetrical. No 20 has a projecting room with gable and finial, and two double hung sash windows under an awning. The front door with fan and sidelight is recessed in line with the other two houses. Numbers 22 and 24 have their front doors with fan and sidelight set to one side flanked by two double hung sash windows. The separate verandah is supported by timber posts with decorative wrought iron brackets which had previously been removed. The dividing parapet walls are visible through the verandah roof. There are two rendered corbelled chimneys evident. There is a timber picket fence to the front boundary line.

History

Charles Street was originally a narrow lane owned by Charles Hastie, who had a number of disputes over access and ownership with Charles Spencer. When the lane was widened and lengthened to become a public thoroughfare it was named after both men. Charles Street is located in one of Bunbury’s earliest residential areas.

The date of construction of the attached houses at 20, 22 and 24 Charles Street is not known. The houses are thought to have been constructed c 1900 as rental accommodation for Bunbury’s rapidly expanding population. No entry for the lot could be found in the 1899 rate book.

In 1921, William Brittain was listed as the owner of four properties on Lot 9/10. William Brittain owned a number of rental properties throughout Bunbury at this time, including the house at 11 Charles Street.

The Estate of William Brittain was listed as the owner in 1931, by at which time there were only three houses listed on the lot. The houses were numbered 15, 17 and 19 Charles Street and were occupied by Arthur Sutcliffe, C J Anderson and A Winter respectively. Previous occupants of No 17 and No 19 were a Mr Thomas and R Goode.

By 1941, William Ratcliffe owned the three attached houses and by this time, the numbers had changed to 20, 22 and 24 Charles Street and the occupants were James McCaffney, Walter Palmer and James Lilley. During the year, James Lilley vacated No 24 and the owner moved in.

William Smith was listed as the owner in 1951. He lived at No 24, while L A Lyons and Mrs A A Mouritz were the occupants of numbers 20 and 22 respectively.

Integrity/Authenticity

High degree of integrity (original intent clear, current use compatible, high long term sustainability).
High degree of authenticity with much original fabric remaining.
(These statements based on street survey only).
The fence and some decorative timber and iron details are replacement material.

Condition

Condition assessed as good (assessed from streetscape survey only).

Uses

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.