COLONIAL HOUSE

The 'Colonial House', at 25 Clarence Street, Loch, built in c.1890, is significant. The weatherboard asymmetrical Victorian villa has projecting pays to the North and South with an added octagonal bay to the West, at the front the building. The villa has a return bullnose verandah with slender coast iron posts and a cast-cast frieze. The eaves are decorated with paired crackets and alternating 'cricket bat' moulds and bosses, and dentil moulds beneath the verandah gutter boards. The windows throughout the house have segmentally arched heads and the front window is a three-part, double hung window. The side panelled door is in casement with sidelights, as part of the false Ashlar weatherboard front of the house. Other features include the two corbelled brick chimneys with rounded capping and the two large Aracuria trees denoting the front boundary. Non-original alterations and additions, other than those specified above, are not significant.

The 'Colonial House' at 25 Clarence Street, Loch, is of local historic and aesthetic significance to the South Gippsland Shire.

Historically, this house is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Loch. It has been a key property in the community, including in the 1920s, when it was owned by Dr. Naylor. The doctor used part of 'Colonial House' as his home surgery, making the property well known. This house demonstrates the first phase in the development of Loch following the opening of the South Eastern Railway in 1890. (Criteria A) 
Aesthetically, this is a superior example of an asymmetrical Victorian villa with full detailing. It also demonstrates the only known example in the South Gippsland Shire of a cast iron verandah. The context of the building is enhanced by the mature, manicured gardens on the property, including the two mature Auracaria trees. This place significantly contributes to the aesthetic character of Clarence Street and Loch. (Criteria E)