Lilydale Pre Federation House Types

The houses of the Victorian/Pre-Federation Houses Group are located in Anderson Street, Beresford Road, Castella Street, Cave Hill Road, John Street, Maroondah Highway and Wilsons Lane, Lilydale. They are typically common nineteenth century house types, although not all were built in the nineteenth century, with some constructed in the first years/decade of the twentieth century. This is evidenced by the date range of the 1890s through to 1910. The properties have, variously, deep front setbacks with gardens, as well as spacious side setbacks and side driveways; in some cases due to generous allotment sizes and placement of buildings within the allotments, views of side elevations as well as the front facades. There is a diversity of non-original fences including timber picket fences, and simple timber and wire 'hair-pin' fences. The presentation of the properties is also enhanced by the presence of mature trees and vegetation in some cases, and visible original roof forms (if not necessarily roof cladding) and original chimneys.

The houses of the Victorian/Pre-Federation Houses Group are of local historical and aesthetic/architectural significance.

Historically, the houses which date from the period of the 1890s through to 1910 are significant for demonstrating residential development in Lilydale in this period, and the preferred or typical residential housing types. At this time, spurred on by the arrival of the railway in the 1880s, Lilydale was undergoing a transformation from rural township to commuter suburb, the latter eventually cemented by the electrification of the railway line in 1925 which shortened the journey time to the city. This shift was also reflected in the housing which gradually evolved from the earlier, simpler and more modest forms predominantly found in rural towns, and evidenced by some of the dwellings in this group, to the later Federation houses and then bungalows and other interwar housing types more typical of Melbourne suburbia. The houses are additionally significant for being associated with a particular phase of growth and development in Lilydale. Again, following the arrival of the railway, the population increased, holiday-makers and tourists arrived in the area, growing prosperity brought new businesses to the town, manufactories opened, and many of the larger properties surrounding the town were subdivided. While the economic depression of the 1890s brought a stop to this growth, prosperity had returned by the 1910s, again reflecting or encompassing the period of development of the subject properties.

Aesthetically and architecturally, while the houses are typically modest in design and architectural expression, and often constructed of timber, they are nevertheless comparatively intact examples of common nineteenth century housing types, albeit some were constructed in Lilydale in the first years/decade of the twentieth century. The subject properties include examples of double-fronted houses with front verandahs and symmetrical arrangements of windows and central door, this being one of the simplest nineteenth-century Victorian house types; narrow single-fronted worker's cottages with a longitudinal hipped roof; and houses with an L-shaped plan and a projecting room or bay to one side, which reflects an early Federation approach.

The following modified Victorian Heritage Council/HERCON criteria are used in the assessment of cultural heritage significance.

The houses of the Victorian/Pre-Federation Houses Group are of local historical significance. The houses date from the period of the 1890s through to 1910, and help demonstrate residential development in Lilydale in this period, and the preferred or typical residential housing types. At this time, spurred on by the arrival of the railway in the 1880s, Lilydale was undergoing a transformation from rural township to commuter suburb, the latter eventually cemented by the electrification of the railway line in 1925 which shortened the journey time to the city. This shift was also reflected in the housing which gradually evolved from the earlier, simpler and more modest forms predominantly found in rural towns, and evidenced by some of the dwellings in this group, to the later Federation houses and then bungalows and other interwar housing types more typical of Melbourne suburbia.

The houses are additionally significant for being associated with a particular phase of growth and development in Lilydale. Again, following the arrival of the railway, the population increased, holiday-makers and tourists arrived in the area, growing prosperity brought new businesses to the town, manufactories opened, and many of the larger properties surrounding the town were subdivided. While the economic depression of the 1890s brought a stop to this growth, prosperity had returned by the 1910s, again reflecting or encompassing the period of development of the subject properties.

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The houses of the Victorian/Pre-Federation Houses Group are of local aesthetic and architectural significance. While they are typically modest in design and architectural expression, and often constructed of timber, they are nevertheless comparatively intact examples of common nineteenth century housing types, albeit some were constructed in Lilydale in the first years/decade of the twentieth century. The subject properties include examples of double-fronted houses with front verandahs and symmetrical arrangements of windows and central door, this being one of the simplest nineteenth-century Victorian house types; narrow single-fronted worker's cottages with a longitudinal hipped roof; and houses with an L-shaped plan and a projecting room to one side, which reflect an early Federation approach.

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Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

Residence