HOUSE

History:

The house at 234 Coppin Street, Richmond, is first listed in the Directories in 1889. At the time, it was one of only three buildings on the west side of Coppin Street between Swan Street and the railway line. In 1889 it was listed as vacant; the following year, the house was occupied by James Hancock. The Rate Books are somewhat unclear regarding this property, but its style suggests that 1889 was its date of construction.

Description:

234 Coppin Street, Richmond, is a double-storey 19th century Italianate style house, of rendered masonry construction. It has a two-storey verandah supported on cast iron columns with an ornate cast iron lacework frieze and balustrading panels at first floor level. The frieze at ground floor level has been removed. Two wing walls with curved parapets enclose the verandah at each end, embellished with cement rendered classical masks, consoles and applied relief decoration. There are two arched openings in the wing walls at first floor level, and one at ground floor level. The window at ground floor is a tripartite arrangement of double-hung sashes, and there are three unequally spaced double-hung sashes at first floor level, all now fitted with iron bars. The facade is surmounted by an ornate parapet featuring classical balustrading above a swagged frieze, crowned by a segmented arched broken pediment with a large swagged urn in the centre.

The original cast iron palisade front fence survives.

Significance:

234 Coppin Street, Richmond, is of local architectural significance. The house is representative of the late 19th century double-storey form, and is a good example of the Italianate style. The house is substantially intact, retaining most of the original cement render and cast iron decoration, and is notable for its unusual broken pedimented parapet.

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

House