A Tower of "Coburg Castle", two Semi-Detached High Victorian Residences - The Grove, Coburg
Located on Coburg's elm lined and most prestigious street, The Grove, this property was one of the original buildings of the Moreland Park Estate.
Designed by T. J. Crouch in 1888, although it looks like one large high Victorian mansion, this property, is a clever piece of architectural trickery, and is in fact two semi-detatched double storey residences. This in no way suggests that they were small. Quite the contrary, each was of a substantial size with their own towers, stables and outbuildings, and would have suited a wealthy upper middle-class Victorian family. The houses have ornate ceilings, wide arches, marble mantelpieces, cedar paneling and Australian blackwood staircases.
Built of polychromatic bricks, each villa is a mirror to that of its neighbour with a return verandah featuring elegant cast iron lacework. The roof is made of slate tiles as is the hipped roof of the verandah. The brown and yellow bricks are constructed in a profusion of geometric designs, which even make the shared wall between the two villas a smart feature. All window sills are bluestone as is the foundation of the property. Perhaps its most outstanding features are the twin towers both of which are sixty feet in height, which make the property stand out for miles around. These towers are solidly built and are roofed with lead. They have railings and four large draped urns on each. The building is a landmark to the area and is referred to affectionately as "Coburg Castle".
This villa represents the brief initial period of development prior to the bust of the 1890s and subsequent housing boom of the early 20th Century, in which much of Coburg's residential development occurred.
One was occupied between 1889 and 1924 by the Reverend Dr Mathew, Minister of Coburg Presbyterian Church, and the property survived Melbourne's property bust of the 1890s and the new boom after Federation in 1901. However, its luck ran out during the Great Depression and the stables and outhouses were demolished during the early 1930s. The property was then turned into a cheap rooming house (as were so many other fine Victorian houses and mansions during this period of history). It remained so for nearly sixty years, and then it was sold. The new owners restored the property fully, and live in one half, whilst renting the other half out (which has now been converted into several modestly sized flats).
The Grove, was part of the Moreland Park Estate. This was Coburg's most prestigious subdivision in the 1880s. In 1882 Charles Moreland Montague Dare, a St Kilda businessman, bought Jean Rennie's forty acre farm and, with his architect, T. J. Crouch, subdivided thirty acres of it into 147 allotments. The Grove was originally christened Moreland Grove after its owner. A covenant was placed on the subdivision prohibiting the building of hotels or shops, or any house under the value of 400 pounds. By 1890 there were twenty-four brick houses on the estate, twenty one of them owned by Charles Moreland Montague Dare himself. There was a caretaker to tend the streets, the wooden pavilion and the tennis courts, which soon became a bowling rink to suit the more sedate interests of the residents. Men of substance, including a banker, a merchant, a manufacturer and several civil servants and accountants lived on the estate and the Moreland Park Ladies' College in The Grove offered a genteel education. By the 1890s the Melbourne property boom had burst and by 1900 there were still only twenty seven houses in The Grove and many vacant allotments; Charles Moreland Montague Dare's own place at "Moreland Park", a ten acre property on Merri Creek, added to the rural atmosphere. In 1896 Dare fell into financial difficulties and had to transfer many of his properties to the Australian Widows' Fund Life Assurance Society. In 1900 he owned only seven houses, a few allotments and Moreland Park. He died in 1919.
A Tower of "Coburg Castle", two Semi-Detached High Victorian Residences - The Grove, Coburg
Located on Coburg's elm lined and most prestigious street, The Grove, this property was one of the original buildings of the Moreland Park Estate.
Designed by T. J. Crouch in 1888, although it looks like one large high Victorian mansion, this property, is a clever piece of architectural trickery, and is in fact two semi-detatched double storey residences. This in no way suggests that they were small. Quite the contrary, each was of a substantial size with their own towers, stables and outbuildings, and would have suited a wealthy upper middle-class Victorian family. The houses have ornate ceilings, wide arches, marble mantelpieces, cedar paneling and Australian blackwood staircases.
Built of polychromatic bricks, each villa is a mirror to that of its neighbour with a return verandah featuring elegant cast iron lacework. The roof is made of slate tiles as is the hipped roof of the verandah. The brown and yellow bricks are constructed in a profusion of geometric designs, which even make the shared wall between the two villas a smart feature. All window sills are bluestone as is the foundation of the property. Perhaps its most outstanding features are the twin towers both of which are sixty feet in height, which make the property stand out for miles around. These towers are solidly built and are roofed with lead. They have railings and four large draped urns on each. The building is a landmark to the area and is referred to affectionately as "Coburg Castle".
This villa represents the brief initial period of development prior to the bust of the 1890s and subsequent housing boom of the early 20th Century, in which much of Coburg's residential development occurred.
One was occupied between 1889 and 1924 by the Reverend Dr Mathew, Minister of Coburg Presbyterian Church, and the property survived Melbourne's property bust of the 1890s and the new boom after Federation in 1901. However, its luck ran out during the Great Depression and the stables and outhouses were demolished during the early 1930s. The property was then turned into a cheap rooming house (as were so many other fine Victorian houses and mansions during this period of history). It remained so for nearly sixty years, and then it was sold. The new owners restored the property fully, and live in one half, whilst renting the other half out (which has now been converted into several modestly sized flats).
The Grove, was part of the Moreland Park Estate. This was Coburg's most prestigious subdivision in the 1880s. In 1882 Charles Moreland Montague Dare, a St Kilda businessman, bought Jean Rennie's forty acre farm and, with his architect, T. J. Crouch, subdivided thirty acres of it into 147 allotments. The Grove was originally christened Moreland Grove after its owner. A covenant was placed on the subdivision prohibiting the building of hotels or shops, or any house under the value of 400 pounds. By 1890 there were twenty-four brick houses on the estate, twenty one of them owned by Charles Moreland Montague Dare himself. There was a caretaker to tend the streets, the wooden pavilion and the tennis courts, which soon became a bowling rink to suit the more sedate interests of the residents. Men of substance, including a banker, a merchant, a manufacturer and several civil servants and accountants lived on the estate and the Moreland Park Ladies' College in The Grove offered a genteel education. By the 1890s the Melbourne property boom had burst and by 1900 there were still only twenty seven houses in The Grove and many vacant allotments; Charles Moreland Montague Dare's own place at "Moreland Park", a ten acre property on Merri Creek, added to the rural atmosphere. In 1896 Dare fell into financial difficulties and had to transfer many of his properties to the Australian Widows' Fund Life Assurance Society. In 1900 he owned only seven houses, a few allotments and Moreland Park. He died in 1919.