Ord & Bateman Street Precinct

Child Places

• 24622 HOUSE, 16 ORD STREET
• 23356 DUPLEX, 12 KNUTSFORD STREET
• 21423 HOUSE, 14 ORD STREET
• 20212 HOUSE, 9 BATEMAN STREET
• 20209 HOUSE, 3 BATEMAN STREET
• 24631 HOUSE, 18 ORD STREET
• 24615 DUPLEX, 22 ORD STREET
• 20211 HOUSE, 7 BATEMAN STREET
• 20210 HOUSE, 5 BATEMAN STREET
• 24614 DUPLEX, 20 ORD STREET
• 23355 DUPLEX, 8 KNUTSFORD STREET
• 21122 HOUSE, 14 KNUTSFORD STREET
• 21119 DUPLEX, 6 KNUTSFORD STREET
• 21120 DUPLEX, 10 KNUTSFORD STREET
• 21422 HOUSE, 10 ORD STREET
• 04550 HOLDSWORTH HOUSE 1 BATEMAN STREET
• 24630 HOUSE, 12 ORD STREET
• 24602 HOUSE, 24 ORD STREET

Statement of Significance

The precinct is rare as an intact group of Federation period residences. The early owners and developers of the precinct were prominent Fremantle businessmen Lionel Holdsworth (expiree, accountant and mercantile clerk) and Henry Dixson (tobacco merchant). The precinct contributes to the Fremantle community's sense of place through its distinctive streetscape. The houses between 20 and 24 Ord Street have strong landmark qualities as fine two-storey examples of Federation Filigree architecture, accentuated by their location above street level. The precinct contains a rare collection of fine Federation Filigree style residences. The 2001 addition to 3 Bateman Street is of little significance. There are no intrusive elements. This statement of significance was taken from the Heritage Council of Western Australia’s Register Entry for the Ord and Bateman Street Precinct (January 2005).

Physical Description

Register of Heritage Places - Assessment Doc’n Ord & Bateman Street Precinct Ord & Bateman Street Precinct comprises 10-24 Ord Street; 8-14 Knutsford Street; and 1-9 Bateman Street. It is set on a limestone ridge that rises sharply from Ord Street and continues on to become Monument Hill. The houses were all built within the decade between 1892 and 1902. The houses on Ord Street are either substantial duplexes or single residences, while the remainder are modest working class residences, some of which have been greatly expanded in the last decades of the twentieth century. To the north of the precinct the large villa Ivanhoe has been demolished and replaced with Ivanhoe Flats and a service station on the corner of High and Ord Streets. The buildings in the precinct are constructed in ashlar, random coursed and rubble limestone, tuck-pointed face brickwork and stucco, with corrugated metal roofs, with a small number of places having tiled roofs. Ord Street is a busy road that was formerly a two-way pair and has been altered to a single lane in each direction relatively recently. Fremantle Prison is on the west side of the road beyond Knutsford Street, and most of the houses have views over the prison, to the City, harbour, and ocean. 10 Ord Street (1898, Fremantle Family Medical Clinic) is a single storey villa residence designed in the Federation Bungalow style, set deep in its site, with an expansive front garden area, including plantings of Frangipanni, and Bougainvillea, that is currently paved. The house is constructed in rendered limestone with pick faced quoins. There is a bay window. It has a concrete tiled roof, tall masonry chimneys, a full width verandah carried on stop chamfered timber posts, with a cast iron balustrade between posts. Sweeping steps lead up to the front verandah from the front garden. The windows are double hung sashes, and the front door is glazed and panelled. 12 Ord Street (1896) is a single storey Federation Bungalow style residence set close to the front boundary, with a low stucco and cast iron palisade fence and lawn. It was identical to its neighbours at 14 and 16, but changes have differentiated the three in matters of detail. 12 Ord Street is constructed in tuck-pointed random coursed limestone, with random rubble side walls and stucco. The walls have been rendered in the past and the present owners are in the process of removing the render. There is a thrust window bay, which is gable roofed. The house has a hipped and gabled tiled roof, tall masonry chimneys, a two thirds width verandah carried on stop chamfered timber posts. Sweeping steps lead up to the front verandah from the front garden. The windows are double hung sashes, and the front door is glazed and panelled with sidelights and awning lights. 14 Ord Street (1896-7) is a single storey Federation Bungalow style, residence set close to the front boundary, with a low stucco and stucco pier fence and a garden of roses, herbs and bedding plants. It is a more complete version of the houses at numbers 12 and 16 in terms of detail. The house is constructed in random coursed limestone with the tuck pointing obscured by re-pointing, with random rubble side walls and stucco. There is a thrust window bay, which is gable roofed, which retains its timber fret work. The house has a hipped and gabled custom orb roof, tall masonry chimneys, a two thirds width verandah carried on stop chamfered timber posts, with a cast iron panel balustrade. Sweeping steps lead up to the front verandah from the front garden. The windows are double hung sashes, and the front door is panelled with sidelights and awning lights. 16 Ord Street (1897) is a single storey Federation Bungalow style residence, set behind a low stucco and stucco pier fence with a cast iron palisade, and a garden of Cypresses and Eucalypts. The house is constructed in random coursed limestone, which has been rendered over. There is a thrust window bay, which is gable roofed, and a sunhood over the windows. The house has a hipped and gabled custom orb roof, tall masonry chimneys, a two thirds width verandah carried on stop chamfered timber posts, with a timber lattice balustrade. Sweeping steps lead up to the front verandah from the front garden. 18 Ord Street (1905) is an imposing house and together with its neighbours at 20-22, and 24 make up a very strong suite of buildings. It has a low stucco brick and pier boundary wall topped with a cast iron palisade. The garden has a brick paved drive, concrete path, and has plantings of Roses, Lavender, and shrubs. The house is a two-storey building with a two-storey verandah. It is built in the Federation Filigree style, constructed in random course limestone walls, with limestone rubble side walls, and white tuck pointed quoins and reveals. There is a full width two storey bull nosed roof verandah across the front of the house, supported on stop chamfered posts, with applied fillets, post brackets and a timber Chinoiserie motif balustrade. The windows are pairs of double hung sashes and the doors are panelled with glazed sidelights. The whole place has been conserved in a sympathetic manner and is in good order. 20-22 Ord Street (1892) is a pair of semi detached houses, designed to give the appearance of a single residence, and has a low stucco brick and pier boundary wall topped with modern heritage pattern palisade. The garden has a brick paved drive and paths, and has plantings of Roses, in a parterre pattern, and an unidentified tree. The pair is a two-storey building with a two-storey verandah. It is built in the Federation Filigree style, constructed in black tuck-pointed random course limestone walls, with limestone rubble side walls, and white tuck pointed quoins and reveals. There is a full width two storey bull nosed roof verandah across the front of the house, supported on stop chamfered posts, with applied fillets, post brackets and a replacement cast aluminium panel motif balustrade. The windows are double hung sashes arranged in sets of three with a major and pair of minor flanking sashes, and the doors are panelled with glazed sidelights. Both places have been conserved in a sympathetic manner and are in good order. 24 Ord Street (1891-2) completes the suite of two-storey buildings on the Ord Street frontage. It has a low stucco brick and pier boundary wall topped with a timber rail and picket palisade. The garden has terracotta tiled paths, and has rich and dense plantings of Palms, Peppermint Trees, Sheoak, Cypresses, Tea Tree, Oleander, Sugar Gums (Eucalyptus cladocalyx), Olive Trees, and shrubs. The house has a two-storey verandah. It is built in the Federation Filigree style with random course limestone walls and limestone rubble side walls, and stucco quoins and reveals. Most of the masonry is painted. There is a full width two storey skillion roof verandah across the front of the house, supported on barley sugar cast iron posts at ground floor level and square posts at first floor level, with a timber St. Andrew’s cross motif balustrade. The columns have Corinthian capitals, and the present frieze is clearly a replacement for an earlier frieze, possibly of cast iron. The windows are double hung sashes, and the doors are panelled with glazed sidelights. The whole place has been conserved in a sympathetic manner and is in good order. Knutsford Street rises steeply away from Ord Street and is enclosed by predominantly nineteenth century houses. It has commanding views of the City, harbour, and ocean. The houses on the northern side of the street are closely related in terms of type, scale, and style. 6-8 Knutsford Street (1892) is one of two sets of very similar single storey semi detached houses, built as workers’ accommodation. It is built in the Federation Bungalow style constructed in random course limestone walls, with limestone rubble side walls, and white tuck-pointed brick quoins and reveals. The place is simply founded on the limestone cap rock and perches on top of it. Both the street and the driveway have been carved out of the rock. The party wall passes through the roof and has a coping stone top. Face brick chimneys pass though the roof behind the ridge line. Most of the masonry is painted. There is a full width convex profile roof verandah across the front of the house, supported on stop chamfered timber posts with a timber St. Andrew’s cross motif balustrade. The windows are twopane double hung sashes and the doors are panelled with glazed hopper fanlights. There are single and two storey additions to the rear. The place is in good order. 10-12 Knutsford Street (1891) is the second of two sets of very similar single storey semi detached houses. It is built in the Federation Bungalow style constructed in face brickwork with cut and struck joints. The place is founded on the limestone cap rock in the same manner as its neighbour. The party wall does not pass through the roof, unlike 6-8, because it has been removed to increase the width of the hall. Face brick chimneys pass through the roof behind the ridge line. There is a full width convex profile roof verandah across the front of the house, supported on stop chamfered timber posts with a timber balustrade with vertical balusters. The windows are two-pane double hung sashes, and the doors are panelled with glazed hopper fanlights. There are single storey additions to the rear. The place is in good order. 14 Knutsford Street (1893) is very similar to the adjoining single storey semi detached houses, built in the same materials. It is built in the Federation Bungalow style constructed in random coursed black tuck-pointed limestone, with white tuck-pointed quoins. The place is founded on the limestone cap rock in the same manner as its neighbours. There is a full width bull nosed profile roof verandah across the front of the house, supported on stop chamfered timber posts with fillets and a timber balustrade in the St. Andrew’s cross motif. The windows are two-pane double hung sashes, and the doors are panelled with glazed hopper fanlights. There are substantial two storey additions to what was the rear of the house in Bateman Street and these are in sympathy with the original house. The additions comprise the majority of the fabric and the development on the site almost appears as two separate houses. The Bateman Street side has some open space, which is treated as a courtyard, with a pier and iron grille fence, brick paving and plantings which include a Lemon Tree, Fig Tree, London Planes, Bottlebrush, and Eucalypts. The place is in good order. Bateman Street runs along the contour of Monument Hill and rises towards its centre. The east side of the street is taken up by retaining walls to the bottom of Monument Hill. The houses are simple workers’ houses, with entries at street level. The houses extend out over the side of the hill allowing sweeping views to the west. The first three houses were almost identical, but change through time has made them vary, one of them significantly. There are several street trees including Coastal Morts and Chinese Tallow. 1 Bateman Street (1895, Holdsworth House) is a two-storey Federation Filigree style residence set close to the front boundary, with a timber picket fence. It is single storey on the Bateman Street side and with the benefit of the reverse slope is two storey on the interior side. A wide carport obscures much of the house from Bateman Street. The house is constructed in timber frame and clad with weatherboards. The house has a hipped zincalume roof, tall masonry chimneys, surrounding bull nosed roof verandah carried on stop chamfered timber posts with timber friezes, post brackets, and a Chinoiserie balustrade. The windows are double hung sashes, and the doors are glazed and/or panelled with sidelights and awning lights. The street frontage garden is brick paved with plantings of Palms, Pines and Creepers. 3 Bateman Street (1901-2) is a two-storey residence set on the front boundary. It is single storey on the Bateman Street side and with the benefit of the reverse slope is two storeys on the interior side. This house was originally constructed in the Federation Filigree style and was nearly identical to its neighbours at 5 and 7 Bateman Street. However, it was substantially altered in past periods, and, in 2001, was altered once more to its present appearance. The original house is constructed of limestone rubble, which has been rendered over. The house has a hipped zincalume roof, tall masonry chimneys, verandah on the north, west, and south faces. The addition to the Bateman Street side is contemporary with a combination of rendered masonry, rubble limestone, brick quoins and timber boarding. The front windows are fixed lights. The street frontage garden is a paved courtyard behind the limestone screen wall. The addition is strangely discordant, but the logic for the design approach follows accepted conservation principles. 5 and 7 Bateman Street (1902 and 1901-2) are single storey on the Bateman Street side and two storeys on the interior side. The houses are Federation Filigree style. The main body of each house is set close to the street with a small courtyard between house and street, with one room of each house being set on the front boundary. The houses are constructed of limestone rubble, with white tuck pointed brickwork. The houses have hipped zincalume main roofs, tall masonry chimneys, with bull nosed roof front verandahs supported on stop chamfered posts with fillets and timber friezes. The kitchens extend to the boundary and have low pitched roofs set behind parapets with small arched windows in the Bateman Street elevations. The windows are generally single pane double hung sashes, and the doors single pane and two panel arrangements with leadlight sidelights. They both have steel grille fences, brick pave courtyards and plantings include Roses, Monsteria, Wisteria, Gardenia, and Diachondra ripens. 9 Bateman Street (1903 and 1988) is single storey on the Bateman Street side and two storeys on the west side and was designed in the Federation Bungalow style. The main body of the house is set close to the street with a generous courtyard between house and street. There is a new carport on the boundary at the northern side of the site. The house is constructed of limestone rubble, with white tuck pointed brickwork, but this has been rendered over to give the appearance of ashlar. The house has hipped a zincalume main roof, with bull skillion roof verandahs supported on stop chamfered posts with fillets and post brackets. The windows are generally single pane double hung sashes, and the doors four panel arrangements with sidelights. The southern extension that extends towards the street is carried out in a similar style to the original house, but differs in detail with its treatment of windows and the smooth wall finish. The garden is brick paved with plantings of Roses, Palms, Figs, Plane Trees, and Melaleuca. Beyond the study area, a chain link fence at the top of a deep excavation made to accommodate Ivanhoe Flats car park and servicing fronts the remainder of the street. The steep embankment is covered with a variety of native and exotic shrubs. At the corner with High Street is, 247 High Street (1901), a single storey villa residence in the Federation Bungalow style.

History

The precinct comprises 10-24 Ord Street; 8-14 Knutsford Street; and 1-9 Bateman Street. By 1832, the townsite of Fremantle had been laid out, and some building had commenced. By 1833, a dirt road had been made from Perth to Fremantle, named the Perth-Freemantle (sic) Road. Over the next decade, the towns of Fremantle and Perth developed, and four tracks were established leading from Fremantle: to Perth, to Canning Bridge, which was opened in 1843, to the Canning district and Kelmscott, and south to Mandurah. Development in the Swan River Colony was slow through the period to 1850, when the commencement of transportation of convicts to the small colony heralded a period of rapid development. A wide program of public works was carried out by convict labour, including the building of Fremantle Prison. In the 1860s, the construction by convicts of a new Perth-Fremantle Road and the bridge over the Swan River at North Fremantle led to increased traffic on the road. In 1872, the Perth-Fremantle Road became a public highway. During this period, most people continued to reside within the early townsites, and in close proximity to their place of employment. In the late 1880s and early 1890s, sub-division commenced of some of the large lots to the south and east of the town of Fremantle, along the roads to Mandurah and the Canning district. The Fremantle merchants who had acquired wealth through their commercial enterprises began to move into the East Fremantle area, to take advantage of the higher ground to the east of High Street and views to the Swan River and the ocean. The Gold Boom that followed the discovery of gold at Coolgardie in 1892 brought an influx of population to Western Australia. The population of Fremantle increased rapidly, and residential development of the areas to the east, south, and north of the townsite proceeded apace through the 1890s, and into the first decade of the twentieth century. In 1901, the population of the Municipality was 14,700, a little over half the size of Perth. Other than High Street, which bears the traditional name for a central street, most of the street names within the precinct honour Governors of the Swan River Colony or members of their families, or people associated with the development of the precinct. Governor Sir Harry Ord (1877-80), who signed the documents setting aside the land for Fremantle Park (1877), is commemorated in Ord Street. The continuation of this street is Hampton Street, in honour of Governor John Hampton (1862-68). Bateman Street commemorates the Bateman family, well known wealthy Fremantle merchants. Knutsford Street was named after the birthplace of Lord Holland, after whom another East Fremantle street was named. The section of Knutsford Street north of Ord Street was formerly Hill Street, as shown on sewerage maps. Post World War Two Sewerage Maps of Fremantle District show the precinct at that period. Ord & Bateman Street Precinct comprises 10-24 Ord Street, 8-14 Knutsford Street, and 1-9 Bateman Street. The majority of the buildings in this group were built in the period 1892-1902, which may be divided into pre Gold Boom (1891-92), Gold Boom (1893-97) and turn of the century periods (1898-1902). Those dating from the pre Gold Boom period, are 20-22, and 24 Ord Street, and 8 and 12 Knutsford Street. Those dating from Gold Boom period are 12, 14, and 16 Ord Street, 14 Knutsford Street, and 1 Bateman Street; and from the turn of the century period, 10 and 18 Ord Street, and 3, 5, 7, and 9 Bateman Street. These places in Bateman Street were all built in the space of three years, 1901-03. For the most part, the places were built as single residences, constructed of limestone and brick with iron roofs, and the majority were 'modest working class cottages'. The houses are either in the Federation Bungalow or Federation Filigree styles. In contrast with nearby streets, there are several two-storey buildings clustered in Ord Street and nearby at 1 Bateman Street. Of these, 20-22 Ord Street are semi-detached, as are some single storey cottages at 8 and 12 Knutsford Street; and these are the only semi-detached residences in the precinct. In the pre Gold Boom period, Ivanhoe (c. 1890, demolished 1964), was one of the earliest and the largest residences built on the block. It was built for James Lilly (b. Tasmania, 1845, arr. c. 1877, d. Claremont, 1905), steamboat proprietor, shipping agent and Manager at Fremantle for the Adelaide Steamship Company. Set in large gardens, with stables, cottages, and pigsties, Ivanhoe was described by contemporaries as 'magnificent'. In 1964, Ivanhoe was demolished, and part of the grounds, now 6 Ord Street, at the corner of High and Ord Streets, was developed by Caltex Oil Company as a service station. Ivanhoe Flats, 8 Ord Street, at the rear of the service station, was built by Multiplex in 1968-72. The site of this well-known former residence, which was previously an important element of the streetscape, has not been included in the study area of Ord & Bateman Street Precinct. The flats and service station abut the precinct to the north. Lionel Holdsworth (b. England, 1826, d. Fremantle, 1900), an expiree, accountant and mercantile clerk, after whom Holdsworth Street is named, owned much of the precinct in the early 1890s. In 1891-92, Hugh Dixson, tobacco merchant, principal of the Adelaide Company, Dixson and Sons Tobacco Factory, purchased a number of lots from Holdsworth, which he proceeded to develop. In 1891-92, two pairs of semi-detached cottages were built for him at 8 and 12 Knutsford Street. As the first occupants were tobacco twisters and the foreman of the tobacco company, it seems likely that they were employed by Dixson, and it is possible that he had the cottages purpose built to accommodate his workers. In 1892, at Lots 2 and 3 of 918, Dixson had built as an investment a pair of semi-detached two storey residences at 20-22 Ord Street in the Federation Filigree style and, in the same style, a two-storey residence at 24 Ord Street. The early tenants were police sergeants from the prison, and superintendents from the hospital, both of which were located nearby. In 1896-97, nos. 12, 14, and 16 Ord Street were built as investment properties for Lionel Holdsworth, and on completion all were leased to tenants. 1 Bateman Street is unique in the precinct, as the only residence constructed of timber weatherboards. In 1895/1896, the house, incorporating a two storey section to take advantage of the sloping ground, was constructed for Lionel Holdsworth. The place has been classified by the National Trust of Australia (W. A.), and is included in the City of Fremantle Municipal Inventory. It is also known as Holdsworth House. The residences within the precinct continue to be occupied as single residences, with the exception of 10 Ord Street, which is in use as doctor's rooms. In 2000, a walking guide of four residential blocks was published that included the precinct as block three. The Heritage Council’s documentation contains Management Strategies for the precinct as follows: There should be no demolition of significant places within the precinct. Ord & Bateman Street Precinct should be protected by the conservation of the existing heritage buildings, street frontages, and gardens, together with careful management of the public domain. The character and intactness of the different elements of the precinct should be conserved and strengthened, and new development should be controlled to retain the heritage significance of the precinct and its diverse components. The need for the evolution of the place should be recognized and change managed to conserve the visual harmony of the precinct. To achieve these aims the following management strategies should be implemented: • The Heritage Precinct included in the State Register and under the City of Fremantle’s Town planning scheme should be delineated to coincide. • Development guidelines specific to the precinct that are based on the Statement of Significance should be prepared to guide new development, together with alterations and additions to heritage places within the precinct. • The guidelines should refer to the importance of retaining the heritage stock, the design of any new places and the need to respect the existing scale, proportions, and plan form of the existing buildings and streetscape guidelines. The guidelines should emphasise the need to evaluate change in terms of the overall context of the precinct. • Guidelines should relate to the broad precinct management strategies, or an overall precinct management strategy for residential precincts. This information was taken from the Heritage Council of Western Australia’s assessment documentation for the Ord and Bateman Street Precinct. The documentary evidence was compiled by Robin Chinnery, Historian, with research assistance from Dr. Leonie Stella. The physical evidence was compiled by Philip Griffiths, Architect. The above is gratefully acknowledged as their work.

Integrity/Authenticity

INTEGRITY 10 Ord Street is used for non-residential purposes (medical practice). The remainder of the places retain their residential use. The precinct retains a high level of integrity. AUTHENTICITY Most properties have undergone change and many have gone from decline to later be conserved. Much of the conservation and restoration is confined to the more fragile elements such as roof finishes and verandahs. Most interiors have been adapted for modern living. The authenticity of the precinct remains moderate to high.

Condition

With minor exceptions, the condition of the precinct outside the public domain is fair to good. There are no properties in poor condition.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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