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Cottage

Location 17 Casselden Place,, MELBOURNE VIC 3000 - Property No B5304 File Number B5304 Level Local

[1/1] B5304 Cottage

Statement of Significance

Number 17 Casselden Place is the only remaining cottage of a terrace of six, built in 1876 as rentable cottages for working men by John Casselden, a bookmaker and newsagent of Little Lonsdale Street. Number 17 Casselden Place is a single storey cottage consisting of two main rooms with attached brick laundry and kitchen at the rear.
Although humble in size, the quality of materials, workmanship and detailing is quite impressive.
This cottage on a 23 x 23 ft. site, is of red brick construction, set on a bluestone footing, with tuckpointed cream bricks emphasising the two window openings and the central doorway. The end of the parapet on the party wall finishes in a block with a console supporting it. The roof is covered with slate and is still in good order. The door has a transom light and the transom cross member has an interesting nail-head moulding treatment.
Houses in Casselden Place formed a part of Melbourne's infamous "back slums", identified from 1870 to 1920 as a focus for crime and vice. Police sought to close brothels here and in nearby Leichardt Street on several occasions in the 1880's. The "back slums" were gradually replaced by warehouses after 1890, but for several decades this quarter formed an essential counterpoint to the progress of the surrounding city. Against the crime and poverty of Casselden Place, Melbourne could measure the wealth and grandeur of Collins Street.
Classified: 20/10/1983