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Beemery Park Precinct

Location

42 AND 47 AND 49 AND 51 AND 53 AND 57 AND 59 AND 61 AND 63 SEYMOUR ROAD AND 57-59 ALLISON ROAD ELSTERNWICK, GLEN EIRA CITY

Level

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Statement of Significance

What is significant?

The following features contribute to the significance of the Beemery Park Precinct:

Intact dwellings dating to the late-Victorian period,
Intact hipped roof forms and roof cladding, predominantly slate tiles,
Original chimneys – rendered or face brick,
Original bi- or polychrome brickwork (brown, cream and red) with banding, quoining, contrasting lintels etc.,
Intact rendered walls with ashlar/smooth,
Intact wall detailing – cornice with brackets, etc.,
Intact bay windows,
Original gable end detailing – rough cast render and timber battens (53 Seymour Road),
Intact openings – timber windows (generally double-hung sashes, with some casements), often with basalt sills, and doors, some with decorative glass,
Original verandah detailing including cast iron or timber friezes, and tiles,
Basalt pitchers to kerbs and channels, and
Complementary street plantings, mainly London Plane trees (Platanus acerifolia).

Contributory places:

Seymour Road (north side): 47, 51, 53, 57, 59, 61, 63
Seymour Road (south side): 42
Allison Road: 57-59

Non-contributory places:

Seymour Road (north side): 49

How is it significant?

The Beemery Park Precinct is of local historical and aesthetic significance to the City of Glen Eira.

Why is it significant?

The Beemery Park Precinct is of historical significance for its ability to illustrate the development of middle-class housing estates in Elsternwick over the late 19th century. During the 1880s, the explosive growth rate and speculative activities of wider metropolitan Melbourne stimulated a building boom across the suburb, in which many of its larger estates were subdivided and subject to rapid construction. As demonstrated by the precinct, which consolidated between circa 1886-1901, the dwelling of choice for the relatively affluent suburbanite was that of the single-family and freestanding Italianate style villa. This phase of development, curtailed by the onset of the 1890s Depression, was key in the establishment of suburban Elsternwick and solidified Seymour Road as a decidedly prosperous location. (Criterion A)
The Beemery Park Precinct is of aesthetic significance for being comprised of a well-designed and largely intact group of Late Victorian period villas set on relatively large lots in generous garden settings. The 9 remaining houses are good examples of their type – predominantly that of the Italianate style – although its expression is varied throughout the precinct, with both asymmetric and symmetric compositions and either polychromatic or rendered examples. There is also a typical but wide range of late 19th-century ornamentation. Slate clad (some replaced) hipped roofs have universally been employed. Consistent forms and a high level of detail form a cohesive streetscape that is evocative of the Late Victorian period. There is also a distinctive late 19th century/Federation transitional villa at 53 Seymour Road (constructed circa 1901). Its roughcast rendered and halftimbered gable ends, along with other elements, are interpretable as a harbinger of the emergent influence of the Arts and Crafts movement. (Criterion E)