Citation No:
City of Port Phillip Heritage Review "Balgownie"
Formerly
unknown
St
St
Be aco nsf ield
Pa rk
Pd e
Co wd ero y
Fra se r
St
Identifier
193
Heritage Precinct Overlay HO3 Heritage Overlay(s)
Address
324 Beaconsfield Parade ST. KILDA
Constructed 1913
Category Residential:detached Designer unknown
Amendment C 29 Comment Significance (Mapped as a Significant heritage property.) An exceptional two storey residence that is a well-known landmark along the Beaconsfield Parade foreshore. Built in 1913, the facade is a notable and idiosyncratic example of the Queen Anne style. The planning is similarly idiosyncratic and includes, among other things, a roof deck (an extremely rare feature for the period). Its garden contains a significant palm tree and its facade is covered in a fine cloak of virginia creeper.
Primary Source Robert Peck von Hartel Trethowan, St Kilda 20th century Architectural Study Vol. 3, 1992
Other Studies Description Style : Queen Anne Two storey residence Balgownie is an idiosyncratic two storey residence on Beaconsfield Parade. It was designed in 1913, by an unknown architect, builder, or owner, in a style that relates most closely to Queen Anne. Its creeper-covered twin peaked gables, quaintly arched balcony and porch, and the magnificent untrimmed palm tree in its garden, make it a well-known landmark along the beachfront. Its design is quite original, both inside and out, and yet seems to emanate from an earlier decade. Despite its apparent size the house contains only four principal rooms: the bay-windowed drawing room at the front left; the dining room half way down on the right; and upstairs, a master bedroom above the drawing room and a smaller bedroom to the rear. The first floor is only half the area of the ground floor. Much of the ground floor is taken up with circulation space. The porch opens into the entry and stair hall, which dog-legs around between the two main rooms, squeezes past a small servant's room, and opens into an unusually wide vestibule beside the dining room before leading on to the kitchen areas at the back. The first floor also has an unusual vestibule balcony room which serves the bedroom and the balcony. The staircase climbs erratically all the way to the roof, where it opens onto a roof