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Figsby & Fareham

Location 47- 49 Robe Street,, ST KILDA VIC 3182 - Property No B5611 File Number B5611 Level State

[1/2] B5611 Figsby & Fareham [2/2] B5611 Figsby & Fareham

Statement of Significance

Figsby and Fareham, a pair of terraces built in 1867, probably designed by their owner/builder William Allen, are of architectural and historical significance at the State level.
Historically, the terraces have associations with notable figures. Figsby is named after Henry Figsby Young of Young and Jackson Hotel fame who lived there for a while. Other residents included the important writer Marcus Clarke and major painters Albert Tucker and Joy Hester. Tucker's painting "Watcher on a Balcony" shows the unusual iron work as part of the work.
Architecturally, the simple bichromatic brick facade detail is a relatively early example of the style, but the pattern and style of the cast-iron verandah is the most unusual element. The flat open-work pilaster supports of the first floor and the filigree style of the brackets are one of only a handful of examples in Melbourne, and owes its precedence to the ironwork of New Orleans and London. Although examples of a partly sunken basement exist from this time in Parkville and East Melbourne, it is unusual in forming a three storey structure.
Classified: 03/04/2000