Morson Court

Morson Court was constructed in 1953 and is a two storey flat-roofed building constructed of brick, with a rendered and painted surface, and ground floor east elevation faced with local field stone. It comprises six shops at ground level with office suites above. It was built for Charles Henry Moore, descendant of William John Moore who had acquired the site in 1920. The connection with the Moore family is apparently evoked by the building's name. The original architect and builder have not been identified.

Morson Court is of local aesthetic/architectural and historical significance.

Why is it Significant

Morson Court is of local aesthetic/architectural significance. Within the Belgrave township it stands out as a Modernist building of some scale and impact which occupies a prominent corner position and dominates the eastern entry point to the township. The building is particularly imposing above the awning line, with the simplicity and refinement of its composition and detailing also evident in its exposed east elevation and to its prominent corner. Although extended at first floor level in 1970, these works maintained the earlier form and fabric of the first floor facade, were well integrated with the original building, and were executed sympathetically in relation to the original building. The presentation to Main Street is therefore particularly intact to its original design concept, with some modifications at ground floor level. Other works to the building have not had a significant impact on the building's overall original form and appearance.

Morson Court presents a strongly horizontal and unusually wide frontage to Main Street, with a contrast in character between the first floor facade and the articulated shop frontages at ground level. The combination of office suites at first floor level, with a long uniform band of metal-framed windows set within a 'shadow box', and six individual ground floor shop fronts under a similarly long boxed awning, is striking and was clearly a new building form in the town when constructed.

In the context of broadly contemporary post-war development in Belgrave, Morson Court can be compared with both the Coles Variety Store (1953, 1662 Main Street) and the former Belgrave Post Office (1952, 1639 Main Street), but is more intact than either of these buildings. Morson Court's Modernist approach was also a bold departure from the more traditional Moderne rendered style of the Coles Store and the conservative cream brick form of the Post Office.

The building also manages the change of levels between its frontage and rear, with the access to the first floor office suites on a steeply sloping site being well resolved. This is in part aided by the landscaping to Terry Avenue, and the adjoining short flights of concrete steps, planters and field stone cladding (which may or may not have been part of the original setting of the building) complementing the building character to the corner. The use of local stonework in the plinth of the Terry Avenue elevation was consistent with the use of similar materials in other broadly contemporary buildings in Belgrave, with Morson Court appearing to set a precedent locally for this use which was also applied to the facade of the pair of shops to 1698- 1700 Main Street and subsequently to the modernised former bank premises at 1635 Main Street.

Morson Court is additionally of local historical significance. When constructed in 1953, the building reflected a post-war increase in population as well as a growing affluence in the community, through the provision of new commercial premises for the township, combining office and retail facilities. It came in the period after the easing of wartime restrictions. The building could also be seen as a historical 'marker' or one of the first signs of post-war development in Belgrave, in an era which heralded its transformation from a hills township to a hills suburb at the terminus of Melbourne's eastern suburban rail network. Morson Court also continues to serve its original function.

Recommended for inclusion in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme to the extent of the building as described, but not including the car parking area to the rear.

Group

Commercial

Category

Shop