House

Statement of Significance

The place at 148 Grey Street has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: The place is associated with the Emma Amelia Sherratt who was married to Thomas Sherratt (jnr) of the well-known and prominent residents and merchants in Albany, and who ran Sherratt’s Store on Duke Street. After her husband’s death Emma became a well-known boarding house proprietress and lived at this house in Grey Street. The place associated with George Uglow, of an early settler family to Albany and who became well-known for his work in the postal service and in land speculation. The place is a fine and well-executed example of a timber and iron Victorian Regency style residence which has maintained a high level of authenticity, and its use of timber relatively rare for residences in the historic townsite particularly the western side of the town which is dominated more by brick and stone construction. The place reflects the typical dwelling of a rising middle class that emerged from the commercial and service industries that developed around Albany in the latter part of the 19th century and into the early 20th century particularly when Albany was the main port for Western Australia. The place is significant as one of the houses/buildings in Grey St (West) that have heritage value both individually and as part of a group – including nos. 148, 153, 160, 170, 172, 176, 178, 183, 184, 194, 198, 206, 208.

Physical Description

Some of the notable features of this place include: • Elevated position – high streetscape value • Single storey residence • Timber weatherboard cladding • Projecting wing with flying gable • Decorative timber barge board and finial • Projecting bay with semi pyramidal roof • Timber window frames – three sash windows Some obvious modifications include: • Extensions to rear • External colour scheme

History

The place at 148 Grey Street was located on original Town Lot 190. By 1890 this was subdivided and 148 Grey Street was located on Lot 1 of 190. The Rate Book entry for 1890 shows the owner of this Lot as George Uglow. Uglow also owned the adjacent smaller Lot 188 on the corner of what was then Stirling Street (now Collie Street). The Rate Book entry for 1890 also shows that there were three houses on Lot 190 at this time. The Tenants were from east to west: B. Furnifull (carpenter), Tom Knight (boatman) and Captain J G Sipple. It was Furnifill who lived at 148 Grey Street. George Uglow, born 1845, came to Albany as a young child with his parents and lived in Albany the rest of his life. He married Marion Ellen Earnshaw who was born in Busselton and came to Albany in the mid-1880s where she met George. George was the State Postal official and also speculated in land. He and his family lived at Middleton Road. Marion died 8th October 1926 at Middleton Road aged 80. George died aged 91 on 4th September 1937 also at his Middleton Road home. In June 1906, Emma Amelia Sherrat, widow, of Duke Street, applied for Lot 190 in fee simple. Emma Sherrat was the wife of Thomas Sherrat (jnr) – of the well-known early pioneering family of Albany - and they lived at their house and shop on Duke Street (refer Sherratt House). Sherratt had died in 1895 and Emma later moved to this house in Grey Street and ran her old house as a boarding house. Emma died at her Grey Street home on 7th March 1915. In 1949, Albany Council adopted a by-law across designated areas of the central townsite - which included Cuthbert Street - requiring that all dwellings, shops and warehouses be built only of brick, stone or reinforced concrete, thereby not permitting timber to be used as the primary building material for external wall cladding. This by-law was not an uncommon one and adopted by most local councils in both metropolitan and regional areas owing to the hazards of timber mainly in relation to fire. However, this later policy makes the timber houses still extant in Cuthbert Street an important part of its historic and eclectic mix of building materials.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Authenticity: High/Moderate

Condition

Fair

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update