WOODVILLE

Woodville at 2 Olympic Parade, Kangaroo Flat, was built in 1872 for John Scott Lithgo, a local storekeeper and member of the Wesleyan Methodist church. It is a single-storey symmetrical bichrome brick mid-Victorian villa, with a later addition at the rear, and a steeply pitched pyramidal roof with slender chimneys to the front building component. The rear of the house had two trailing narrow wings, one of which may be extant on the east side while that on the west side may also be early but appears to have been modified. The original house component is constructed of face red bricks relieved by cream bricks in alternating headers and stretchers, creating a small-grained quoin effect. The facade also has a concave verandah with a plain fascia, formerly timber posted, but now supported by pipe columns. Original windows at the front and sides are timber-framed double-hung sashes with cambered headers and simple block sills. The front door possibly dates to the Federation period. The house occupies a large asymmetrical plot, narrowing to the south, with views to Kangaroo Flat cemetery. 

Woodville at 2 Olympic Parade, Kangaroo Flat is of local historical and aesthetic/architectural significance. 

Woodville is historically significant (Criterion A) as an example of a substantial brick residence built during the early years of development of Kangaroo Flat. It was built for John Scott Lithgo, a local storekeeper and prominent member of the Wesleyan Methodist church community. Lithgo was an original trustee of the Kangaroo Flat Wesleyan Church in 1871. The siting of the dwelling, and its large asymmetrical allotment, also indicate an earlier property in Kangaroo Flat with an atypical orientation to that of the more recent subdivisions. 

Woodville is also of aesthetic/architectural significance (Criterion E) as a simply detailed mid-Victorian villa with a symmetrical presentation, concave verandah and steeply pitched pyramidal roof. The bichrome brickwork, including the quoin-like patterning, is typical of many buildings in the Kangaroo Flat area; here it is also carried through to the chimneys. Save for the rear addition and the non-original verandah columns the property is largely externally intact as built.