house

Terraced two-bay two-storey house over raised basement, built c. 1855, as one of terrace of eleven. Return to rear. Pitched slate roof, brown brick chimneystacks with terracotta pots, partly concealed behind parapet with cut granite coping. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Brown brick, laid in Flemish bond, to walls, having cut granite plinth course over channelled rendered basement walls. Square-headed window openings with granite sills, raised render reveals, having two-over-two pane and one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows. Elliptical-headed door opening with moulded render surround. Timber doorcase comprising fluted Ionic columns supporting dentillated cornice. Leaded petal fanlight. Timber panelled door with brass fittings. Granite platform and nosed steps having cast-iron railings. Square-headed door opening with recent door to basement. Cast-iron gate having palmette finials and matching railings on granite plinth wall, enclosing basement area.

A well-proportioned house retaining historic features including a well-executed doorcase and timber sliding sash windows. Its fine railings are testament to the quality of Victorian mass-produced ironwork, and add to both the setting of the house and the character to the streetscape. Built for the growing middle class, its classically-influenced style denoted respectability. Up to the early 1840s the area that now comprises Grantham Street was still largely greenfield. However suburb development soon followed, and P. Monks was building on the street in the late 1850s. In 1862, Thom's Almanac noted that a number of houses were still being built on the street at the time. It also listed a broad range of residents including a professor of music, secretary of Army Medical Board, toothbrush maker, manufacturer, and curate.