Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Spanish Mission
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Residence 'Casa Mara'
Casa Mara
Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Spanish Mission
This Spanish Mission home was constructed in 1930 for Mrs Martha Greenfield and is a fine example of the type of upper middle class housing that was prevalent in Clayfield during the interwar period. The picturesque house, garden and fence make a fine contribution to the surrounding streetscape.
Lot plan
L1_RP123237
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Tile;Walls: Masonry - Render
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (E) AestheticInteractive mapping
Lot plan
L1_RP123237
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Tile;Walls: Masonry - Render
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (E) AestheticInteractive mapping
History
Casa Mara, a Spanish Mission style bungalow, was built in 1930 for Mrs Martha Greenfield. It is constructed of brick with a stucco finish and a Spanish tiled roof. Once noted for its garden which featured succulents and Cypress pines, the property includes a front wall designed in a similar style. The house appears in Graham de Gruchy’s 1988 book Architecture in Brisbane, as an example of the Spanish Mission domestic architecture.
Casa Mara was built during the Interwar period, a time when Clayfield and the surrounding suburbs continued to be a sought after residential area by Brisbane’s wealthy and professional classes. Many of the homes built in the 1920s and 1930s in the Clayfield/Ascot/Hamilton area were substantial homes designed in the latest architectural styles such as Spanish Mission and Old English. Some, like Casa Mara featured in the society and home pages of contemporary newspapers and journals.
Martha Greenfield purchased one rood (forty perches) of land fronting Adelaide Street East in 1923. In 1930, a building application for Mrs Greenfield to construct a brick dwelling in “Adelaide Street, Clayfield” at a cost of £3000 was approved. No architect is given in Council records but the house may have been architect designed.
In 1932, Martha Greenfield married Brisbane doctor, Vivian Hector Leigh-Barlow and Casa Mara became their home. The following year, both the property and its “Exquisite & Rare Furnishings” were put up for sale by auction. The advertisement for the sale of the house described it as “the very latest in architectural art” and “unique in every detail…planned and finished in the Spanish period”. Details were given of the ivory finish mantelpiece, ornate dome ceiling, tessellated porch, built-in linen, china and plate cabinets, twisted columns, maid’s room and bathroom, plaster ceilings, leadlight windows and garage.
The house was, in fact, not sold until after the death of Martha Leigh-Barlow in 1936, at which time, it was home to Mr and Mrs Stanley Curnow. One article in the Telegraph in 1936 described the house as “one of Brisbane’s beautiful homes” and noted that “…book leaf Cypress have been used to great advantage against the walls of this home”.
After Martha Leigh-Barlow passed away, the property was transferred to trustees before being purchased by Harold Paton in 1941. In 1950, the property passed to the present owner, who also acquired some of the surrounding allotments, including access to London Road at the rear of the block.
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:
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)