Addresses

At 37 Oxlade Drive, New farm, Queensland 4005

Type of place

House

Period

Interwar 1919-1939

Style

Old English

37 Oxlade Drive, New Farm

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This is an image of the local heritage place known as Tudor Residence

37 Oxlade Drive, New Farm

37 Oxlade Drive, New Farm Download Citation (pdf, 74.12 KB)

Addresses

At 37 Oxlade Drive, New farm, Queensland 4005

Type of place

House

Period

Interwar 1919-1939

Style

Old English

This fine Tudor-style house was designed by the architectural firm of Chambers and Ford and built by Charles King. It was built for James Clark, who had owned the land since 1909, and appears to have been built as a rental property. By 1929 the land was owned by Thomas Wilson. Born in Victoria, Wilson arrived in Brisbane in 1884 and set to studying local government and in 1905 was elected to represent the Merthyr Ward in Brisbane City Council. In 1909 Wilson became Mayor and represented that ward continuously for 16 years. In 1916 he entered Queensland Parliament as MLA for Fortitude Valley. A well-known member of Tattersall’s Club, he also served on their committee. In the interwar period many Brisbane Architects designed picturesque houses with an ‘Old English’ or ‘Tudor’ atmosphere. Generally they were large houses for wealthy clients in the fashionable suburbs of Ascot, Clayfield, Hamilton and Coorparoo. Residential examples of the Tudor style are rare in New Farm.

Lot plan

L95_RP8789; L1_RP42953

Key dates

Local Heritage Place Since —

Date of Citation —

Construction

Roof: Terracotta tile;
 Walls: Timber

People/associations

Chambers and Ford (Architect);
 Charles King (Builder)

Criterion for listing

(A) Historical; (B) Rarity; (D) Representative; (E) Aesthetic; (H) Historical association

Interactive mapping

City Plan Interactive Mapping

Lot plan

L95_RP8789; L1_RP42953

Key dates

Local Heritage Place Since —

Date of Citation —

Construction

Roof: Terracotta tile;
 Walls: Timber

People/associations

Chambers and Ford (Architect);
 Charles King (Builder)

Criterion for listing

(A) Historical; (B) Rarity; (D) Representative; (E) Aesthetic; (H) Historical association

Interactive mapping

City Plan Interactive Mapping

History

Oxlade Drive was originally named Geoffrey Street. Renamed in 1927, it was named after Allen Martindale Oxlade, a Brisbane City Council Alderman who served between 1916-31. At this time only a small portion of the street existed. Extending from Brunswick St, it intersected Bowen Terrace and terminated prior to Turner Avenue. The remainder of the future ‘Oxlade Drive’ was known as ‘River Terrace’. In 1927 it was decided to connect Geoffrey St and River Tce and rename the entire thoroughfare Oxlade Dve.

The house was designed by the architectural firm of Chambers and Ford and built by Charles King. It was built for James Clark, who had owned the land since 1909, and appears to have been built as a rental property. Between 1928 and 1929 the title passed to Thomas Wilson. Born in Victoria, he had begun his working life as a shearer in NSW before working on the Cobar copper field. He arrived in Brisbane in 1884 and set to studying local government and in 1905 was elected to represent the Merthyr Ward in Brisbane City Council. In 1909 Wilson became Mayor and for 16 years represented that ward continuously. In 1916 he entered Parliament as MLA for Fortitude Valley. A well-known member of Tattersall’s Club, he also served on their committee. During Wilson’s ownership of 37 Oxlade Dve he served as Minister for Public Instruction in the Queensland Government. 

Towards the end of the 1920’s and in the 1930’s many Brisbane Architects designed picturesque houses with an ‘Old English’ or ‘Tudor’ atmosphere. Generally they were large houses for wealthy clients in the fashionable suburbs of Ascot, Clayfield, Hamilton and Coorparoo. Residential examples of the Tudor style are rare in New Farm, with the exception of flats or shops. 

The style of the ‘mock Tudor’ was described in the A & B Journal of 1928 as;

“…a modern version of English country house architecture…The massive chimney, high pitched roof and the combined use of brick, stone, stucco and half timber are the materials…In this style of architecture…the elevation shows that pleasing irregularity characteristic of the English House”. 

In addition to Chambers & Ford, who were responsible for designing 35 Oxlade Drive, other architects who were responsible for the Tudor style in Brisbane included E.P Trewern, Blackburn & Gzell, H.G Driver, V.H. Frame and Lange Powell.

Description

This two-storey house built in the Old English or mock Tudor style has a dark face- brick plinth and matching soldier course band defining the upper floor level. Walls are plain stucco to the lower level and half-timbered to the upper floor gables. The general form is asymmetrical with a dominant central gable and double height bay window flanked by a recessed entry and half-gabled stairwell and a two-storey section with a bay window to the lower level. The main roof is hipped with flat eaves soffits, and the gables have projecting eaves supported on brackets. The roof covering is terra-cotta tiles. Windows have narrow vertical proportions, with their placement indicating the stairwell and an attic space. The front retaining wall and steps match the brick and stucco materials of the house.

Statement of significance

Relevant assessment criteria

This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:

Historical

Criterion A

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of the city's or local area’s history

as an example of the 'gentrification' of New Farm during the interwar period when a range of modern building styles was introduced.

Rarity

Criterion B

The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of the city’s or local area’s cultural heritage

as a rare example of the Tudor style popular in the 1920's and 1930's among Brisbane's wealthy elite. It also is rare due to the fact that it is a single detached dwelling built during a period and in a locality when flat construction dominated.

Representative

Criterion D

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class or classes of cultural places

through its use of stucco walls, terra cotta tiles, gabled roof, bay window and half timbering characteristic of the Old English style.

Aesthetic

Criterion E

The place is important because of its aesthetic significance

for its contribution to the streetscape of Oxlade Drive as an externally intact Tudor Revival home.

Historical association

Criterion H

The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organization of importance in the city’s or local area’s history

as a remaining example of Chambers and Ford's relatively rare involvement in the Tudor or Old English style.

References

  1. Apperly, Richard et al. A pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1989

  2. Brisbane City Council, ‘Sixty Years of Municipal Government’. Standard Press, Brisbane, 1925

  3. Brisbane City Council Minutes Books

  4. Department of Natural Resources Titles information

  5. Heritage Unit files, Brisbane City Council

  6. Kennedy, Michael Owen, Domestic Architecture in Queensland Between the Wars, (UNSW. Master of Built Environment graduate report, January 1989)

  7. Post Office Directories.

Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)

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Interwar 1919-1939
Old English
House
At 37 Oxlade Drive, New farm, Queensland 4005
At 37 Oxlade Drive, New farm, Queensland 4005 L95_RP8789; L1_RP42953
Historical, Rarity, Representative, Aesthetic, Historical association