Kirkston Side At Windsor, Queensland
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Kirkston is a heritage-listed
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
at 23 Rupert Street,
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...
,
City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of Greater Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. The LGAs in the other mainland state capitals ...
,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, 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 We ...
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 ...
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 List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
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. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the firm was formed in 2007 by the ...
. Flower acquired the hilltop site of just over in 1885. He commissioned respected Brisbane architect George Henry Male Addison (formerly of
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
) 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 (1982–87). In 1987 Prof Frank and Elizabeth Monsour purchased the property and spent nearly a decade restoring it back to its original beauty. The Monsour family have lived in the residence since as their home. 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-Windsor. The core, which is capped by a complex slate-clad roof of steeply pitched
hips In vertebrate anatomy, the hip, or coxaLatin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) (: ''coxae'') in medical terminology, refers to either an anatomical region or a joint ...
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(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...
are of cement and the face work of Hendra brick is protected by a damp course. Wide
verandahs A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian English, Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a handrail, railing and frequently ...
to three sides are supported by chamfered timber posts with
capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
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. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...
, and feature fine
cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
balustrading A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...
and a deep
lattice Lattice may refer to: Arts and design * Latticework, an ornamental criss-crossed framework, an arrangement of crossing laths or other thin strips of material * Lattice (music), an organized grid model of pitch ratios * Lattice (pastry), an or ...
frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
.
Fire escapes A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually stairs or ladders mounted to the outside of a building—occasionally inside, but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or ...
have been added, and an early garage of lesser quality has been attached to the northeast wall. The main house comprises entrance vestibule, stair hall, living and dining rooms, study, library, breakfast room (with cellar below), and
strongroom A bank vault is a secure room used by banks to store and protect valuables, cash, and important documents. Modern bank vaults are typically made of reinforced concrete and steel, with complex locking mechanisms and security systems. This article ...
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 refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
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 O ...
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. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the g ...
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 In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neithe ...
, those of the drawing room being especially ornate and intact. The service extension also is of brick, but the design is Gothic 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. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...
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 ...
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