Kirkston is a heritage-listed
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
at 23 Rupert Street,
Windsor,
City of Brisbane,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia. It was designed by
George Henry Male Addison
George Henry Male Addison (1857–1922) was an Australian architect and artist. Many of his buildings are now heritage-listed.
Early life
Addison was born on 23 March 1857 in Llanelly, Wales, the son of Edward James Addison (1820–1863), a Wes ...
and built from 1888 to 1889 by John William Young. It was added to the
Queensland Heritage Register
The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 21 October 1992.
History
This substantial, two-storeyed brick residence was constructed in 1888-1889 for John Henry Flower, a
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
solicitor and co-founder of the legal firm of Flower & Hart, which remained prominent until multiple mergers from 2012 saw it become part of international firm
K&L Gates
K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Its namesake firms are Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, a Pittsburgh-ba ...
.
Flower acquired the hilltop site of just over in 1885. He commissioned respected Brisbane architect George Henry Male Addison (formerly of Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
) to design the hilltop home, and in 1888 raised a mortgage of on the property.[
Addison advertised for tenders in mid-1888, and a contract for was let to Brisbane builder John William Young on 17 July. Young worked rapidly, employing an average of 50 to 70 men throughout the construction period. Foundations and cellar were commenced in early September and within four months the roof was being slated. By late April 1889 the elaborately decorated interior was sufficiently ready for furniture to be moved in (some had been specially built to complement interior finishes), and in June the Flower family took up residence.][
The name of the house was derived from that of Flower's wife, Dora Kirk.][
Although John Flower died , the family remained at Kirkston for over 50 years. In the early 1930s the site was subdivided amongst Flower's heirs and the house was bequeathed to Rupert Wickham Flower.][
Richard Henry Trotter purchased the house on just over in 1941, and apart from three years during the early 1940s when it housed an American military intelligence unit, Kirkston has remained a family residence. One of the more flamboyant of recent owners was Paddy John Stephens of Paddys Markets fame at Teneriffe (1982-7).][
Kirkston remains a local landmark, with the early occupants commemorated by the local street names of Flower and Rupert.][
]
Description
Kirkston is a large two-storeyed brick residence with an attached single-storeyed service wing. It occupies a prominent hilltop position, with the roof line visible from many parts of suburban Lutwyche
Lutwyche is a northern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Lutwyche had a population of 3,454 people.
Lutwyche is north of the city's central business district.
Geography
Lutwyche Road, a busy thoroughfare that ...
-Windsor.[
The core, which is capped by a complex slate-clad roof of steeply pitched hips and ]gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
s, accommodates a number of truncated wings in the design.[
]Foundations
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
are of cement and the face work of Hendra brick is protected by a damp course.[
Wide ]verandahs
A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure.
Although the form ''veran ...
to three sides are supported by chamfered timber posts with capitals
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
and brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
, and feature fine cast-iron balustrading and a deep lattice frieze.[
]Fire escapes
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...
have been added, and an early garage of lesser quality has been attached to the northeast wall.[
The main house comprises entrance ]vestibule
Vestibule or Vestibulum can have the following meanings, each primarily based upon a common origin, from early 17th century French, derived from Latin ''vestibulum, -i n.'' "entrance court".
Anatomy
In general, vestibule is a small space or cavity ...
, stair hall, living and dining rooms, study, library, breakfast room (with cellar below), and strongroom
A bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents are stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, much like a safe. Unlike safes, vaults a ...
on the ground floor, and six bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor. Extra kitchens and bathrooms have been added throughout the house since the original construction.[
Distinguishing the interior is a lavish use of ]stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
and timber, including English oak and walnut, Tasmanian blackwood and Queensland greasenut. Leadlighting in the ceiling above the stair hall and around the front door is of particular note, as are the timber dado panelling, fireplace surrounds and overmantels in the principal rooms, particularly those in the dining room. A skylight
A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes.
History
Open ...
has been installed in the roof over the stair hall to illuminate the glass ceiling.[
A half-screen in timber and glass divides the dining and living rooms, and the ]bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room.
Types
Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or r ...
opening to the southern verandah is separated from the main part of the living room by double arches supported by a slender central timber column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
. Several of the rooms retain the original wallpaper and friezes, those of the drawing room being especially ornate and intact.[
The service extension also is of brick, but the design is ]Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
with attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
rooms. Two rooms were added to this wing early in the twentieth century.[
Two huge weeping figs and the original gateposts remain at the corner of Flower and Palmer Streets. These are included within the heritage listing, although separated from the house by later subdivisions.][
]
Heritage listing
Kirkston was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register
The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.[
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
Kirkston, erected in 1888-1889, is significant as an ornate and substantially intact example of domestic architecture on the grand scale in Brisbane during the 1880s, with the opulence in form and finish reflecting the boom era mentality.][
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.
It is a most accomplished building in design, features, finishes, materials, construction and setting, illustrating the principal characteristics of its type. Kirkston is important as a major early example of the domestic work of architect GHM Addison in Brisbane, the innovative design heralding subsequent Federation period building styles, and as evidence of the skill of builder John William Young.][
The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
The place is significant for its landmark quality and aesthetic contribution to the Windsor-Lutwyche townscape, and for its association with several of Brisbane's more prominent families and entrepreneurs.][
]
References
Attribution
External links
{{Commons category-inline, Kirkston, Windsor
Queensland Heritage Register
Windsor, Queensland
Houses in Queensland
Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register