The Grange, Coburg

The Grange
The house in 2019
The Grange, Coburg is located in Melbourne
The Grange, Coburg
Location within Melbourne
Interactive map of the The Grange area
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeHouse and former dairy
Architectural style
Victorian
Location39 Belgrave Street, Coburg, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates37°44′42″S 144°58′30″E / 37.745103°S 144.975029°E / -37.745103; 144.975029
Completed
c.1854 (1854)
Owner
Technical details
Material
Official name
The Grange
TypeRegistered place
Designated9 October 1974
Reference no.H1297
HO20
Categories
  • Farming and Grazing
  • Residential buildings (private)
Official name
The Grange
TypeDefunct register
Designated21 March 1978
Reference no.5577

The Grange is a Victorian Colonial house and former dairy, located at 39 Belgrave Street, Coburg, an inner northern suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.

The house was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 9 October 1974 in recognition of its historical and architectural importance.[1] The house was also added to non-statutory lists by the Victorian branch of the National Trust on 6 May 1971,[2] the City of Merri-bek on an unknown date,[3] and the now defunct Register of the National Estate on 21 March 1978.[4]

History

Peter Virtue (b.1800), a Scottish-born farmer, merchant, and Baptist lay preacher,[5] took possession of two hectares (five acres) at Pentridge (later known as Coburg) in c. 1839 in liquidation of a debt owed to him.[1] On this site, in c. 1854, Virtue built a regular coursed-rubble bluestone house with an attic and dormer windows. Later known as The Grange, Virtue resided there until his death in 1883.[6]

From 1918 until the 1970s the property was used as a home and dairy, firstly by R. H. Parker and after 1922 by the Sharpley family, who probably built the red-brick dairy building at the rear during the inter-war years. M. P. J. Connell occupied the dairy in 1941 and remained there for the next thirty years.[1]

Description

The Grange is historically important as a rare example of an early rural property that was established during Melbourne's initial subdivision and settlement. The house, standing on a reasonably large remnant of its original farm allotment exemplifies the simple bluestone buildings constructed during the primal phase of the development of Pentridge, Victoria's first rural village. The Grange has continued to survive as a rural property for most of the twentieth century, and the house and later buildings can be read for their sequential changes as they relate to the history of their occupation and function.[1]

The Grange dairy buildings are historically important for their rarity and intactness. They are representative of a phase in Melbourne's metropolitan history when small suburban dairies were a vital component of everyday life. The red brick dairy building, comprising cool room, distribution room and loading bay, the stables and manure heap, the milk cart drive at the rear of the property, and the customer sideway access, demonstrate the functions and activities of a small, suburban milk distribution business.[1]

The Grange has further historical significance for its association with Melbourne pioneer settler, John Virtue. A prominent figure in the early history of the Baptist Church in Victoria,[5][7] Virtue was an ardent evangelist and was instrumental in the early closing movement.[8][9] He was also well known in the colony for his large mercantile business.[1]

The house is architecturally notable as a colonial expression of early nineteenth century Scottish vernacular traditions.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Grange, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1297, Heritage Overlay HO20". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "The Grange (NTA-V list: Property No B2660)". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "The Grange (local government list: Property No 23494)". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "The Grange, 39 Belgrave Street, Coburg (defunct RNE) (Place ID 5577)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 21 March 1978. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Church and People". The Herald. No. 16, 829. Victoria, Australia. 25 April 1931. p. 13. Retrieved 28 July 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Family Notices". Weekly Times. No. 769. Victoria, Australia. 31 May 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 28 July 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "BAPTIST UNION". The Brisbane Courier. No. 22, 981. Queensland, Australia. 24 September 1931. p. 15. Retrieved 28 July 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "OUR MELBOURNE LETTER". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 13, 518. 28 July 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 28 July 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "GOOD FARMING PAYS". The Riverine Herald. No. 4305. Victoria, Australia. 5 October 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 28 July 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.

Further reading

  • Broome, Richard (2001). Coburg: between two creeks.
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