CHAMPAGNE ROSE BOUQUET

Standing proudly behind its white picket fence, this Victorian villa is situated in the inner northern Melbourne suburb of Essendon.

Built just before the turn of the Twentieth Century, this is a Victorian style villa with residential Queen Anne influences. The middle-class owners of this villa were determined to appear as though they were able to afford the respectability of brick even if the reality of their situation was different, as this single storey residence is block fronted (meaning it is built of wood, but the wood is cut so as to mimic brick). Built of weatherboard this villa features a return verandah and has a corrugated iron roof; all common features in Victorian architecture. The layout is also typical of the Victorian period. Yet the Queen Anne style is starting to appear by way of the half timbered gable above the bay window, the undulating stylised Art Nouveau fretwork around the eaves and along the verandah, and the decorative chimney pots.

Queen Anne was mostly a residential style inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in England, but also encompassed some of the more stylised elements of Art Nouveau, which gave it an more decorative look.

Essendon was etablished in the 1860s and became an area of affluence and therefore only had middle-class, upper middle-class and some very wealthy citizens. A large villa like this built in one of the finer pockets of the suburb suggests that it was built for an aspiring middle-class family. This villa would have required one of two live-in maids to help its mistress keep maintained.

"Brecon" is a stylish cream Queen Anne style villa of grand proportions situated in a quiet, tree lined street in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon.

Queen Anne style was mostly a residential style inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in England, but also encompassed some of the more stylised elements of Art Nouveau, which gave it an more decorative look. Built just after Federation (1901), the choice of a plain rough cast stuccoed rendering on the walls is very Arts and Crafts inspired, as is the shingling above the rounded bay windows. The arched porch canopy and the dado of red and brown bricks are also very Arts and Crafts inspired. Yet the house features two sets of windows, both of which have Art Nouveau inspired stained glass panes of garlands and flowers, and the tiles around the arched porch are also very Art Nouveau in appearance.

Queen Anne style was most popular around the time of Federation. With complex roofline structures and undulating facades, many Queen Anne houses fell out of fashion at the beginning of the modern era, and were demolished.

Essendon was etablished in the 1860s and became an area of affluence and therefore only had middle-class, upper middle-class and some very wealthy citizens. A large villa like this built in one of the finer pockets of the suburb suggests that it was built for an aspiring upper middle-class family of some means. This villa would have required a small retinue of servants to maintain.