St Scholastica's College Including Buildings and Their Interiors, Fencing And Gr

Item details


Name of item:	St Scholastica's College Including Buildings and Their Interiors, Fencing And Gr
Other name/s:	Toxteth Park; St Scholastica's Convent
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Religion
Category:	Convent/Nunnery
Primary address:	2 Avenue Road, Glebe, NSW 2037
Local govt. area:	Sydney

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
2 Avenue Road	Glebe	Sydney			Primary Address
Arcadia Road	Glebe	Sydney			Alternate Address

Statement of significance:


	Toxteth House has historic significance at a state level for its associations with the Allen Family, prominent architects John Verge and George Allen Mansfield and the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. The house is a prominent Victorian Italianate style mansion which as a reworking of an earlier Georgian building has the ability to demonstrate colonial design and building practices. It is part of a group of aesthetically significant buildings with its garden and landscape elements that form St Scholastica’s Convent and College.
	Date significance updated: 18 Dec 09
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	John Verge, George Mansfield - Toxteh House. Roarty and Roarty - Chapel
Construction years:	1829-1831
Physical description:	The site houses St Scholastica’s School, and includes a number of significant buildings and elements including: Toxteth House. Originally built in 1829, substantial additions and alterations were carried out in 1881-83. It reads as a large two storey Victorian Italianate villa, five bays wide, with a central third storey addition and a tower. There is a two storey verandah that covers two and half sides of the building and has cast iron pillars and balustrading with a marble floor at ground level. The building is constructed of stuccoed brick on sandstone foundations with a glazed terracotta tiled roof. Original drive Gates and gatepost on Avenue Road frontage. Dating from the 1870s they were relocated from Good Samaritan Convent in Pitt St to the site in 1901; Administration Building (1902), a two storey rectangular brick building with projecting bays front and back, with glazed terracotta tiled roof. The stair hall is glazed with good quality stained glass and appears to be the same age as the stained glass in the stair hall at Toxteth. The first floor contains a hall with coved metal and timber boarded ceiling. Wychwood - a c 1903 Federation Arts and Crafts style single storey house, a brick building with pebble dash walls on a sandstone base with original terracotta tiled roof. Has an asymmetrical composition with a large hexagonal bay on the south-eastern corner and a timber verandah on the southern side. There is large terracotta name plate near the front port, which has Moorish horseshoe arch. The windows at the front are casements with leaded fanlights above. Inter- war Romanesque Style Chapel, 1931. It has external walls with dark liver bricks with raked joints. It has a six bay nave and two transepts and as apsidal chancel. On the nave is arcaded loggia. The massing and brick detailing, particularly the sped corbels on the gables make direct references to early Italianate Romanesque. Boarding College-St Benedict’s Wing 1941 - two storeyed red faced brick building with hipped tiled terracotta tiled roof. It has eleven bays along the main north façade and the penultimate bays at either end project to cover entrances. It has a rendered plinth coursed to resemble stonework. The windows are double hung timber sashes and the upper sashes are six paned. The main entrance lobby and stair have retained a large amount of original terrazzo fabric. Landscaping, particularly towards The Avenue frontage of the site.
Modifications and dates:	Toxteh House - J. Verge, 1831. Additions by G.A. Mansfield, 1881-3. 1901 Gates and gateposts construced on Avenue Road frontage. Date from 1870s and relocated from Good Samaritan Convent in Pitt St 1902 Administration Building built 1903 Wychwood constructed 1931 - Chapel built 1941 - Boarding College-St Benedict’s Wingconstructed.
Further information:	Heritage Inventory sheets are often not comprehensive, and should be regarded as a general guide only. Inventory sheets are based on information available, and often do not include the social history of sites and buildings. Inventory sheets are constantly updated by the City as further information becomes available. An inventory sheet with little information may simply indicate that there has been no building work done to the item recently: it does not mean that items are not significant. Further research is always recommended as part of preparation of development proposals for heritage items, and is necessary in preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments and Conservation Management Plans, so that the significance of heritage items can be fully assessed prior to submitting development applications.


Current use:	Convent & School : ST. Scholasticas.

History

Historical notes:

The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters.

With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney.

(Information sourced from Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani )

Toxteth House was built by John Verge for George Allen, 1831, and named as tribute to family friend Sir Robert Wigrams English home called "Toxteth Park" . Additions and alterations made by George Allen Mansfield for Sir George Wigram Allen, 1880. Later additions and alterations made in 1901 when property purchased by Sisters of the Good Samaritan. (source: W.L. Chapman, National Trust Listing Card, 1978)

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Residential-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The site provides evidence of the early Glebe estates, and subsequent subdivision of the Toxteth Estate.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	Associated with the Allen Family, prominent architects John Verge and George Allen Mansfield and the Sisters of the Good Samaritan
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The former Toxteth House is a Victorian Italianate style mansion, which is a landmark, with its tower visible from part of Glebe, Rozelle and Annandale. . It is part of a group of aesthetically significant buildings with its garden and landscape elements that form St Scholastica’s Convent and College.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	The site has archaeolgocal potential to provide further information and material and evolution of the former Toxteth Park. As a reworking of an earlier Georgian building, Toxteh House has the ability to demonstrate colonial design and building practices.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The Venentian mosaics on the altar and baldaachhino in the chapel are a rare example of the art form in Australia.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	St Scholastica's Convent and College , containing Toxteth House and remnant landspcaing, is representative of the early development of Glebe, and the form and nature of an early Catholic girl's school dating from the turn of the 20th century.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

The significant buildings should be retained and conserved. A Heritage Assessment and Heritage Impact Statement, or a Conservation Management Plan, should be prepared for the building prior to any major works being undertaken. There shall be no vertical additions to the building and no alterations to the façade of the building other than to reinstate original features. The principal room layout and planning configuration as well as significant internal original features including ceilings, cornices, joinery, flooring and fireplaces should be retained and conserved. Any additions and alterations should be confined to the rear in areas of less significance, should not be visibly prominent and shall be in accordance with the relevant planning controls.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012	I653	14 Dec 12
Heritage study

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Statement of Heritage Significance & Statement of Heritage Impact	2019		Nigel Parsons & Associates Architects		No
Leichhardt Municpal Heritage Study	1990		McDonald McPhee P/L		No

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written		1831	Sydney Gazette, 27/9/1831
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City
Written	B & K Smith	1989	The Architectural Character of Glebe
Written	Design 5 Architects	2001	St Scholastica's Convent and College and Toxteth
Written	Freda MacDonnell		The Glebe: Portraits and Places
Written	L.G. Norman		Historical Notes on the Glebe
Written	W.L. Chapman	1978	National Trust Listing Card

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2427706

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