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Ilfracombe

Other Name

40 Murphy Street, South Yarra

Location

40 Murphy Street SOUTH YARRA, STONNINGTON CITY

Level

Included in Heritage Overlay

[1/2]
40 Murphy Street, South Yarra
[2/2]
40 Murphy Street, South Yarra

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
'Ilfracombe', at 40 Murphy Street, South Yarra, is significant. The house was built in 1889-90 for pioneer of the Australian accounting profession, Joseph Henry Flack, and his wife Marion. The Flacks resided there until their deaths in 1918 and 1924, respectively.

The house is two-storeys in height and built of red face brick with cement-rendered dressings. The main roof is a high hipped roof covered in slate. The facade is dominated by a wide two-storey projecting polygonal bay on one side, and a single-storey projecting room with a parapet on the other. The projecting room was an early addition. The house is entered via a small porch structure on the north side.

The front brick fence, side garage and glass hood over the front door are not significant.

How is it significant?
'Ilfracombe' is of local architectural significance to the City of Stonnington.

Why is it significant?
Architecturally, 'Ilfracombe' is a striking example of the major changes in architectural design in the late 1880s, completely rejecting the applied cement and cast-iron ornament that typified Victorian Italianate houses and moving to a very modern, sculptural and stripped back form without even a verandah. The two-storey polygonal bay on the facade is the main decorative feature, as are the contrasting red face brick and render dressings. The design approach can be seen as a free form interpretation of the Queen Anne Revival from Britain, and is reflected in the geometric leadlight highlights. The use of louvered shutters (removed) and stripped-back detail also suggests an early Georgian Revival influence. (Criterion D)

Group