Residence

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

This Italianate brick villa constructed in 1887 during Victoria's building boom, has regional historical significance for its associations with the building trade in Newtown and particularly with John Best, a local plasterer, its first owner who had a workshop there. Bests descendants owned the property still in the 1920s. It has regional architectural significance as a particularly finely detailed pattern book Italianate villa. The quality of all of its diversity of details is clearly due to its being built by a plasterer. Particularly good are the parapet decoration, the cornice, fretwork barges, architrave mouldings and the verandah.

References

390. Newtown rate books 1887-88, North Ward, No 441 1938 No 780.

391. Ibid and 1888-89 No 441.

392. Ibid 1925 No 749.

393. Ibid 191920 No 660.

394. Ibid 1925 No 749 1935 No 780.

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

Residence