Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Old English
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Residence
93 Ryans Road, St Lucia
Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Old English
This Interwar Old English style residence was built for Reginald Thompson in 1937 and was designed by notable Brisbane architect Mervyn Rylance who was then in the early years of his career. The house was noted in its time for its valuable attributes of practical function and the convenience and comfort of its interior design. Its construction reflects St. Lucia’s continued development during the interwar period as an affluent suburb.
Also known as
Thompson Residence
Lot plan
L1_RP53116
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Terracotta tile;Walls: Timber
People/associations
Mervyn Rylance (Architect)Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (E) Aesthetic; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
Also known as
Thompson Residence
Lot plan
L1_RP53116
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Terracotta tile;Walls: Timber
People/associations
Mervyn Rylance (Architect)Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (E) Aesthetic; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
History
The land on which the house stands was bought by Architect Richard Gailey in 1889. In 1899 it passed into the ownership of the Brisbane Newspaper Company, later the Brisbane Courier and Queensland Newspapers. This company retained ownership of this particular block when it subdivided the large holding into over 120 smaller blocks during the late 1910s. It was eventually bought by accountant Alan Whiteside Munro (in 1935), who quickly split the land further and sold to Reginald Thompson in 1937.
Thompson had the Tudor-style house sketched out by Mervyn Rylance. Rylance practised in Brisbane between 1936-1972 and he is noted as an important Inter-War Brisbane architect, although he is more noted for his Mediterranean styles. The house was designed by Rylance, but he does not appear to have supervised construction, nor indeed completed the detailed drawings and administration as usual. This house is an early example of his work.
The house is an important example of the interwar development of the St Lucia and Toowong area and demonstrated the ‘new style’ of home available. The house is reported in the Courier Mail of 30 November 1937 as an example ‘of the new spirit in home building’ in which ‘comfort and convenience of interior layout were the first thought’ and which demonstrated that ‘the manner in which the material is used is of greater importance than the material itself’.1
Description
This building is a two-storey house in Interwar Tudor style, with terra-cotta tiled roof and ‘halftimbered’ upper walls projecting beyond the lower walls. Other typical characteristics of the style are the diamond patterned leadlight casement windows, shingle cladding above the bay window, and decorative catslide roof.
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:
References
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John Cock. A Question of Style: The Life and Work of Mervyn Hamilton Rylance. Un pub Thesis. QUTI Bachelor of Arch Thesis. 1995. p.24.
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Alexander, Joseph A. Who’s who in Australia, 1944
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Brisbane City Council Water Supply and Sewerage Detail Plans
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Cock, John, A question of style: The life and work of Mervyn Hamilton Rylance, B. Arch thesis, QKT, 1995
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Department of Natural Resources, Queensland Certificates of title and other records.
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Environmental Protection Agency
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JOB Estate Map Collection and photographic collection
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McKellar's Map of Brisbane and Suburbs. Brisbane: Surveyor-General’s Office, 1895
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Watson, Donald & Judith McKay, A Directory of Queensland Architects to 1940, UQ Library, 1984
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Watson, Donald and Judith McKay. Queensland Architects of the 19th Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Brisbane: Queensland Museum, 1994
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised September 2020)