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DUNCRAIG (FORMER HAMPTON VILLA), 31-33 Hampden Road, Armadale

Location 31-33 HAMPDEN ROAD ARMADALE, STONNINGTON CITY Level Included in Heritage Overlay

[1/1] HAMPDEN VILLA

Statement of Significance

Hampden Villa was designed by the prominent Arts and Crafts architect,Walter Richmond Butler, who was responsible for the 1890s additions tothe original 1850s house.

The building is the prototype for later Butler buildings. Hampden Villais of special interest because Butler designed it for himself.

The stained glass at Hampden Villa is both outstanding and exceptional.It is outstanding in its virtuoso and innovative treatment of domesticleadlight, both in the aesthetic appeal of the designs themselves and intheir thoughtful treatment of the needs of the window space. The glassis exceptional not only in its innovativeness but in its extreme rarityas an example of the work of August Fischer, and as a very rare exampleof Australian Arts and Crafts lead lighting. In addition, the location'of this glass in Butler's own house is of primary significance in thehistory of Australian decorative arts.

Hampden Villa has important historical associations with a number ofprominent, urbane citizens. In addition to Butler, they were its firstowner, David Butler Long, who is one of Victoria's earliest and mostsuccessful pharmacists; his wife, Helen, who was a notable pioneer inher own right; and Professor Sir Baldwin Spencer, an outstandingAustralian scientist and anthropologist, during whose ownership thebuilding housed one of the richest collections of art painted byAustralians. The property is substantially intact from the Butlerperiod.