The Cloisters, Perth
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The Cloisters is located at 200
St Georges Terrace St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial thoroughfare through the central business district. Its ...
, opposite its intersection with Mill Street in
Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
. It is a two-storey dark coloured brick building, which terminates the vista at the top of Mill Street and is a landmark in the rise of the street to the ridge of the plateau. The Cloisters is one of a small number of remaining convict-built colonial buildings of the mid-nineteenth century in the central area of Perth.


History

It was designed by
Richard Roach Jewell Richard Roach Jewell (1810 in Barnstaple, Devon, England – 1891 in Perth, Western Australia) was an architect who designed many of the important public buildings in Perth during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He was employed to sup ...
for Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale and constructed in 1858 as a secondary school for boys. It was established and funded with a grant from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and Bishop Hale's own donation. The school was called the ''Perth Church of England Collegiate School'' (colloquially known as ''Bishop Hale's School''), and was the first secondary school established in the
Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...
. The architectural style of the building was derived from
St. James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...
,
Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...
, parts of
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, and
Fulham Palace Fulham Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in Fulham, London, previously in the former English county of Middlesex. It is the site of the Manor of Fulham dating back to Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Saxon times and in the c ...
. The Tudor embellishments tied the structure to the
history of the English monarchy The history of the English monarchy covers the reigns of List of English monarchs, English kings and queens from the 9th century to 1707. The English monarchy traces its origins to the petty kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, which consolidated in ...
(the head of the Church which Hale served) while signifying the power and authority of England under which government the colony was founded, the gothic features signifying the moral and temporal authority of the Church. Students at the school included
John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister in ...
, who became the first
Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...
and then Federal Treasurer,
Alexander Forrest Alexander Forrest CMG (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament. As a government surveyor, Forrest explored many areas of remote Western Australia, particula ...
who become the Lord Mayor of Perth, Stephen Henry Parker, Sir
Edward Wittenoom Sir Edward Horne Wittenoom Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (12 February 1854 – 5 March 1936) was an Australian politician who served intermittently in the Western Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Cou ...
,
Frank Wittenoom Francis Frederick Burdett Wittenoom (17 December 185511 September 1939) was an explorer and pastoralist in Western Australia. Biography Early life Frank Wittenoom was born in York, Western Australia in 1855.Maitland Brown, William Samson, John Bateman, Fredrick Brockman, George Roe and Augustus Roe. In 1865, administration of the school was taken up by the
Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
. In 1872, the boys school activities were relocated in another building further east on St. George's Terrace and the building was used as a school for girls. In 1879–80 additions were constructed on the western side of the building (comprising further classrooms and dormitories above). By the late 1890s, the school closed due to declining student numbers and the construction of government funded schools. The Diocesan Trustees, divided the building in half with brick partitioning and rented out the two sections as private residences, The eastern half of the building became a boarding house and, in 1904, was first referred to as The Cloisters. The western side of the building was used as a college for the clergy, established by Archdeacon Charles Lefroy and, by 1909, this portion was known as St John's College. The western half continued to be used as a theological college until 1918, when the whole building was used as a hostel for the recently established
University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...
. During the late 1960s the owners made plans to demolish the Cloisters, and redevelop the site. However the Cloisters was saved by a business deal. The developers had to restore the Cloisters to its original splendour, in exchange for being allowed to construct a bigger building behind it. In 1971, The Cloisters was restored and adapted for use as a commercial outlet at a cost of , equivalent to in , incorporated into the project was the retention of the nearby Port Jackson Fig tree (which was planted in 1887 by a tenant of the Cloisters). The building and the facades were retained and restored, albeit with plate glass windows to the openings of the cloisters. The interior of the building was gutted to create additional office space. The building was first classified by the National Trust in 1973 and together with the Port Jackson Fig was placed on the permanent state heritage register on 20 October 1995. With the completion of the Mount Newman Mining Company offices in early 1971 behind The Cloisters the area is now known as Cloisters Square.


Current uses

the building is vacant.


References


Further reading

* Oldham, R. 'School Architecture in Western Australia' in The W. A. Teacher's Journal (June, 1966) * Pitt-Morison, M. 'Settlement and Development. The Historical Context' in Pitt-Morison, M. & White, J. (eds) Western Towns and Buildings (University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, 1979) * Stannage, C. T. The People of Perth. A Social History of Western Australia's Capital City (City of Perth, Perth, 1979) {{Refend Landmarks in Perth, Western Australia Tourist attractions in Perth, Western Australia Gothic Revival architecture in Perth, Western Australia St Georges Terrace State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Perth