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Tanswell's Commercial Hotel

Other Names Former Carriage Museum ,  Chriscoll's Commercial Hotel Location 30 Ford Street,, BEECHWORTH VIC 3747 - Property No B1992 File Number B1992 Level State

[1/1] B1992 Tanswell's Hotel

Statement of Significance

J D Fisher opened the first Commercial Hotel on this site in 1853. It was the first two storey building in the town. Fisher sold the premises to T Tanswell who erected the present two storey brick and stone structure in 1873. The facade is simply composed with a centrally located residential entrance and has a two storey cast iron and timber verandah. The ground floor windows are set in a series of segmental arches. The architect was Rogers of Carlton.
A hotel has existed on this site since 1853. The present structure has a notable association with the Tanswell family who ran the hotel for several years.
It is a notable example of Australian country hotel architecture and is a prominent local landmark. The granite blocks at the springing points of the ground floor arches and the granite and brick entablature etc. are notable features. The old bar sign on the lower sash of the bar window is also significant. The extensive stables and coach house at the rear still survive.
The building has been carefully restored; unfortunately the original colour and texture of the facade's brickwork was destroyed when the facade was sand-blasted.
Classified: 18/11/1965

STATEMENT OF SIGNFICANCE BEECHWORTH - HISTORIC AREA
Beechworth is a picturesque nineteenth Century provincial town. It is a well preserved example of government and private building, which resulted from the town's important historical role as the administrative and commercial centre of Victoria's north-eastern goldfields. Beechworth was once significant for its position on an early overland route from Melbourne to Sydney.
The town is located sympathetically to the topography, in an area of considerable landscape interest. Set amid forested undulating country, there remain many relics of the mining era in and about Beechworh. It is a rich field for industrial archaelogy.
There are within the town a large number of historical and architecturally significant buildings. These display a quality of form and richness of material and detail, which make Beechworth one of the most significant of Austraila's goldfield towns. Of particular interest is the common usage of local granite in construction. Its honey colour imparts a quality distinctive to Beechworth.
The highlights of Beechworth are the grid of wide streets flanked with granite kerbing; the streetscapes of considerable integrity with groups of homogeneous buildings set off by mature elms and other exotic trees; and the remnants of historic Victorian gardens. Around the town there are many examples of nineteenth century street furniture, signs and fences.
Classified: 18/11/1965