There are streets in the western suburb of Stanmore where, if you block out the hum of traffic and the sound of passing trains, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve been transported to medieval Italy.
“High Victorian Italianate” describes one of the most popular architectural styles of the 1880s, when grand mansions were built along the new railway line. Unlike Georgian or Greek Revival styles, these homes favored irregular floor plans with tall, narrow windows, decorative ironwork, and deep overhanging eaves reminiscent of medieval Tuscan villas.
At the time, Stanmore was a nascent suburb seen by affluent residents as a desirable alternative to the slums and smog-filled industrial areas closer to town. As farms were subdivided and farmhouses demolished, the blocks near the station became a magnet for merchants and cashed-in professionals who wanted a scenic escape from the city.
For wealthy pastor Benjamin Eves, building a huge house was more than just a status symbol; it was something of a necessity to house his 14 (yes, 14) children.
Completed in 1889, Essington was designed with two rear bedroom wings: one for girls and one for boys. Cedar stairs led to these two wings, with an adjoining morning room at the top of the stairs.
The house was richly decorated with pressed metal ceilings, wallpaper friezes, stained glass windows and 10 marble fireplaces. Two stone lions stood guard at the marble entrance staircase, inlaid with patterned Italian tiles.
Many of these early villas were later converted into mansions. In this case, the Eves family bequeathed the estate to the Presbyterian Church in 1956. It was used as a boys’ home until the early 1980s when it was converted into a family residence.
Essington has changed hands four more times since then, most recently to the Santos family, who paid $2.3 million in 2011. Now the 10-bedroom, four-bathroom heritage-listed home is once again at home. looking for a new owner.
Spread over two titles covering over 900 square meters, the elegantly updated house offers several living and reception rooms, a separate studio and north-facing gardens with a heated swimming pool and summer house. DA approval has been granted to create two houses.
34-36 Gordon Crescent, Stanmore NSW 2048
Jonathan Hammond of Cobden & Hayson Annandale expects the sale to break Stanmore’s current house price record of $4.08 million, set in 2017 with an off-market deal in Cambridge Street.
“We have attracted interest from families wishing to expand into this area and have moved from it to the north shore to be closer to the train line and private schools, obviously close to town,” says Hammond.
“Not many of this scale are coming to market.”
