The Stair Hall of "Warwilla" Modern Gothic Queen Anne Mansion - Corner St Kilda Road and Beatrice Street, Melbourne

            Surrounded by modern office and apartment blocks the grand red brick mansion “Warwillah”, built on the corner of Beatrice Street and St Kilda Road, is one of the few remaining examples of a time Melbourne’s St Kilda Road was still a grand boulevard of elegant residences.

In March 1875 the government announced that the land on the western side of St Kilda Road would be alienated from parkland and that the land would be sold for residential purposes.  Following the subdivision, a gentleman of means named Rudolph D. Benjamin purchased the land on which he planned to build an elegant residence as befitting his station.  

Designed by well known Melbourne architect John Beswicke, “Redholme” was a sixteen-roomed brick mansion built on Mr. Benjamin’s block in 1896 by the builder James Downie.  Although not in the Benjamin family, “Redholme” survived the death taxes that came after the Great War and the Great Depression of 1929.  It was still a privately owned home in its entirety in 1939 when it was owned by Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Reddish.  Sadly, after the Second World War, “Redholme” changed ownership, usage and even name.  From the early 1950s, the red brick building became the “Warwilla Guest House”.  The name “Warwilla” is what the house has been known as ever since. 

“Warwilla” is an unusual mansion as it is an early example of a transition from Modern Gothic to Queen Anne design.  The red brick tuckpointed facade is asymmetrical with picturesque massing, but the larger half-timbered gable and cantilevered banked window on the south side is balanced by the octagonal corner tower and ‘candle snuffer’ roof on the north.  The Modern Gothic is suggested by the depressed pointed arches to main openings, and engaged colonettes at the porch entrance, whilst the half-timbered gable, octagonal tower with ‘candle snuffer’ roof and Art Nouveau stained glass windows are very much stylistic elements of Queen Anne architecture.  These elements were to remain popular for at least another decade.  The tall banded brick chimneys (done in the style of Henry Kemp) dominate the terracotta tile roof, as do the decorative finials which include a dragon. 

Walking through the stained glass framed front door, you enter “Warwilla’s” lofty entrance hall.  The original ornate Art Nouveau plaster ceilings and foyer fireplace with brass, wood and tiled surround still remain intact.  A grand early twentieth century crystal chandelier hangs from the central ceiling rose.  On the landing of the original staircase a fine stained glass window by British born, German trained, Melbourne stained glass artist William Montgomery still overlooks St Kilda Road.  Featuring a beautiful woman in Tudor garb in a garden setting, the window is typical of the British Arts and Crafts Movement which would have dominated interior design at the time.  Framed by stylised Tudor flowers and pomegranates the line “a merlin sat upon her wrist, held by a leash of silken twist” appears on a scroll.  Taken from the long narrative poem “The Lay of the Last Minstrel” written in 1805 by Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832) the choice of image and literary quote hark back to heraldic times, a great driver of the aesthetics of the British Arts and Crafts Movement.  The stair hall window is signed by William Montgomery in the bottom left-hand corner of the frame, where it also lists his address as 164 Flinders Street.  

At the time of photographing “Warwilla” was partly a Seasons heritage boutique hotel and partly the entrance to a towering modern apartment block which has been built directly behind it.

John Beswicke (1847 – 1925) was a Melbourne architect and surveyor between 1882 and 1915.  He was apprenticed to the firm Crouch and Wilson at the age of sixteen.  He worked there for eighteen years, finishing as head assistant.  In 1882 Ralph Wilson and John Beswicke formed the partnership Wilson and Beswicke.  Through his career he was in sole practice as J. Beswicke, between and following three partnerships including Beswicke and Hutchins, and Beswicke and Coote.  John Beswicke designed many commercial and residential buildings during his career.  These include: the Brighton Town Hall, the Dandenong Town Hall, the Essendon Town Hall, the Hawthorn Town Hall, the Malvern Town Hall, the St Kilda Presbyterian Church, the Auburn shopping strip along Auburn road, “Bendigonia” in Leopold Street Melbourne which runs off St Kilda Road, “Tudor House” in Williamstown, “Tudor Lodge” (later renamed “Hilton House”) home to Mr. Cullis Hill in Hawthorn, “Redholme” (later renamed Warwilla) and his own Hawthorn home “Rotha”.

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / Port Phillip (show map)

Taken on: January 15, 2020

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/3.2, 1/30 sec, 7.2mm, ISO 320 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/3.2
Exposure Time:	0.033 sec (1/30)
Focal Length:	7.2mm
ISO:	320
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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