Nott and Wright Family History: Ch:4- Settling in Brisbane

Not long after their arrival, Philip built his house in Westbourne Street, Highgate Hill, South Brisbane.

South Brisbane c.1867

houses facing Tribune Street near corner of Hope Street

Brisbane c. 1884

Highgate Hill c.1902

He probably named the street, as it is the same as the suburb in London where they lived viz. Westbourne Park.

Map of Westbourne Street Highgate Hill

Aerial view of Westbourne Street-

'Trevenen' - the large light grey roof, lower centre with large tree on front left

In the 1878 Directory, he is listed there, on the Sth side of Westbourne Street, viz. the Rt side off Hampstead Rd, next to one other resident named James Noble, an ironmonger. The house at No. 15 Westbourne Street, on the south side, was known as ‘Trevenen’, and later as Trevenen Flats, which he sold c.1914, due to financial difficulties. It is entered in the Brisbane City Council Heritage Register. Why he chose to name his first house Trevenen not Trevarrick is curious. A map of the Gorran area of Cornwall shows a ‘Trevennen Farm’ next to ‘Trevarrick’ farm where he was born. It was also possibly the name of the cottage in which he was born on Trevarrick Farm- see below.

'Trevenen' House c.1899

The house was built in three stages in the mid 1870’s. Philip Nott firstly added the two story wing on the east side and then another wing on the west side, all by 1910. It contained 25 rooms including 6 bathrooms. It was on 68 perches of ground, on which were beautiful gardens. When sold in c.1914, it was also called Le Jardin (the garden). He reportedly sold it due to financial difficulties. Over the subsequent years, parts were converted to flats, and eventually some of the land to the right of the house was sold and a block of units built on it.

'Trevenen- Le Jardin' taken in the 1930's

The following detailed description comes from the Brisbane City Council Heritage Unit Citation:

Real Property Description: Lot 22 on RP 97254, Lot 23 on RP 11724

History

This site was a component of an original purchase of 7 acres and 19 perches of crown land made by Brisbane accountant John Stephens on 6 August 1860. Stephens paid £21.7.2 for the property described as Portion 153 in South Brisbane and it fronted the government road that would become Hampstead Road. Stephens had a new title issued for this property on 31 March 1862. By November 1864, Stephens subdivided this land into suburban allotments.

On 24 September 1874, Brisbane resident and carpenter Philip Nott purchased subdivisions 21 and 22. Nott purchased the adjacent subdivisions 20 and 23 within two days of each other on 13 January 1876. Nott purchased further property in the area, obtaining the nearby subdivisions 5 and 6 in July 1878 and then subdivisions 12 and 13 in April 1884. With his initial purchases of subdivisions 20 to 23 of Portion 153, Nott had a large block of land totaling 68 perches. The land fronted a road that was later named Westbourne Street. It was on this site that Nott chose to build his home.

Nott built his home not long after he bought Lots 20 and 23 in 1876.
NB. Philip purchased subdivision 10 (and part of 9) in his wife's name, Martha Jane Nott, in 1909.

1895 cadastral map of Highgate Hill- Nott purchased Lots 20 to 23, 5/6, 10, and 12/13 in Westbourne Street

taken from https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/mapping-data/maps/research-history/maps-plans

Philip Nott is first listed as a resident of Highgate Hill I the 1878-79 edition of the Queensland Post Office Directories. But Westbourne Street, with builder Philip Nott listed as one of only three residents, first appears as an address only in the 1883-84 edition of the QLD P.O. Directories. It is probable that the large and imposing ‘Trevenen’ was being built in 1878 and was completed by 1883. Nott was possibly involved in building the adjacent large residence at 11 Westbourne Street, which has some similarities to his ‘Le Jardin-Trevenen’. The adjoining house was built for James Ashworth Noble, an ironmonger, hence how it acquired the local moniker of ‘The Ironmongers House’.

Both Nott and Noble’s residences were the first houses constructed in Westbourne Street in 1883, though Nott presumably completed his own home before finishing Nobel’s residence. Given its unusual design, it is believed ‘Trevenen’ was architect-designed but the identity of the architect remains unknown.

‘Trevenen’ started a trend. As Westbourne Street and the parallel Blakeney Street were located on a sloping hill that provided scenic views and breezes, this part of Highgate Hill attracted a number of impressive residences in the late nineteenth century. The property is not listed under the name ‘Trevenen’ until the 1893 edition of the QLD P.O. Directory.

Philip Nott built a grand house. The main body of the house was two-storied, comprising 25 rooms, including two large and one small hall, six bathrooms plus some smaller rooms used as offices or studies. It had a ‘widow’s walk’ on the roof to provide a viewing platform of the surrounding countryside. There were two smaller wings built on the side of the main section of the residence. One wing was attached, while the other was semi-detached. The main entrance hall, located at the side of the residence, featured tessellated black and white tiles on the floor with a covered porch. Albert and Florence Beal’s granddaughter, Mrs Jenny Roemermann stated that even in the 1920’s the residence featured:

"The entry hall included a narrow set of stairs up to the second floor where there were bedrooms… was a ballroom with beautiful parquet flooring and leadlight windows… This room had diamond paned windows… The sitting-room was adjacent to the ballroom with diamond panes in the front and side windows.”

Both the main body of the house and the wings were fronted by wide, open verandahs.

Nott had extensive, landscaped gardens and lawn planted on the property. :Later a gardener’s cottage was added to the property, which would indicated that Nott employed a full-time gardener to maintain the grounds and gardens of his residence. Jenny Roemermann (nee Beal) stated:

“Across the front of the property was lawn with large camphor laurel and palm trees… On the lawn nearest this second entrance was a wonderful swing sufficient to seat four with a platform and two wooden slat seats on a frame that enabled a few of us to swing together… “

The Front of ‘Trevenen’ was lined with a masonry and wrought iron fence that was enhanced with a trimmed hedge. It had a large vegetable garden.

Philip Nott was a prominent builder and local businessman. In 1877 he built the two story extension to the South Brisbane State School (later Brisbane State High School). Nott became heavily involved in the civic affairs of his local community. He was President of the Builders’ and Contractor’s Association in 1898. By 1883, he was the Chairman of the Woolloongabba Divisional Board. In 1888, he was elected to the first Municipal Council of South Brisbane. He was re-elected as an alderman in 1891 and from 1893 to 1898. In 1899, Nott became Mayor of the City of South Brisbane. In 1900, Nott returned to being an alderman and continued in this role in 1901-1902. Nott Street in South Brisbane is named after Philip Nott.

Queensland’s economic depression in the 1890’s may have affected Nott’s business and finances. Nott had some financial difficulties for he mortgaged ‘Trevenen’ to James Thomas Walker and the widows Eugenia Marion Gore and Mary Anne Rebecca Browne on 23 January 1891. They gave him a loan of £3,000. Ernest James Stevens took over James Walker’s part of the mortgage on 14 February 1895. Mary Browne died on 9 March 1903 and Nott had not paid Succession Duties by November of that year. Nott left ‘Trevenan’ by 1910 and moved across the road to live at ‘Trevarick’ (the third house on the corner on the left hand side of Westbourne Street). Nott regained control of the property until 19 March 1914, when, due to financial problems, he sold the property to Florence and Albert Beal. Albert Beal was a merchant. The Beal family maintained and utilized some of the residence’s elegance. Mrs Jenny Roemermann stated that:

“I recall the beautiful parquet flooring of the ballroom which had diamond-paned windows, a grand staircase in the middle of the house, and a lesser one to the hall on the western side, and large lounge and dining rooms.”

In 1921, extensive renovations were undertaken on behalf of the Beal family. The eastern wing was converted into four flats, designed to gain rental income to assist the Beals in paying for their mortgage.

The only reference to the name ‘Le Jardin’ is in a Brisbane City Council sewerage map dated 12 September 1926, that accredits the name ‘Le Jardin’ to 15 Westbourne Street. It means ‘The Garden’ in French.

The site plan of ‘Le Jardin’ drawn in 1926 showed that it was a large grand home with four outbuildings. There was a carriage/automobile driveway entrance located at the front and nearest to the Westbourne Street and Hampstead Road corner. There was a pedestrian entrance located near the boundary with the property at 19 Westbourne Street with a path that lead up to he house and branched off towards the driveway. The stables built next to the boundary line with 19 Westbourne Street had been converted into garages. On the other side of the residence, and to the rear of the property, were located the gardener’s cottage and a small (possibly a garden) shed.

After Albert Beal’s death, Florence Beal had added further small flats to ‘Trevenen’ by the late 1930’s as accommodation for each of her sons after they and married, which were eventually leased to boarders. By the 1939 edition of the QLD P.O. Directory, the property was listed as ‘Trevenen Flats’. By the 1950’s the property consisted of the main house plus six flats, including a flat built over the garage building.

On Monday 14 January 1952, fire severely damaged ‘Trevenen’, starting in the space between the ceiling and the roof in the dry leaves that had accumulated.

After Florence Beal’s death in 1955, the new owner converted the remainder of ‘Trevenan’ into flats. In 1960, the land was re-subdivided to allow the construction of a block of flats. In 1961 an unsympathetic besser-block car accommodation was built at the front of the house. The line of palm trees in the front garden was removed to make way for it, and in 2008 it was reported that the residence was suffering from termite damage, and has descended into a dilapidated state.

Description:

The residence is an example of an altered two-storied late 19^th century house. Asymmetrical in design, it appears to have a pyramid roof with an attached skillion on its left side and a transverse gable at a lower level to its right. Protruding from this gable is a central street-facing gable extension. Additional rood extensions make up the rest of the residence on the right side.

The original internal walls were of wide-grooved vertical pine boards with single walls to the front verandah and no studwork in the two central rooms. The ceiling is VJ board and the floorboards have been laid with timber. The once used ballroom has parquet flooring and diamond-paned windows. There was a grand staircase in the middle of the house with a lesser staircase to the western side hall and a large lounge/dining room. Additional multi-story units were built on the gardens to the right of the house.

Date of Citation February 2001, amended July 2009 Brisbane City Council Heritage Unit.

Grateful thanks must go to the BCC Heritage Unit for gathering all of this information and for listing Philip Nott’s house as an important heritage home in the history of Brisbane. Without them, Philip’s wonderful home would have been forgotten and his descendants would never have known about its existence.

Trevenen in 2001

Trevenen 2009

(NB besser brick garage in front)

aerial view of 'Trevenen'

As described, Philip’s original house, Trevenen, is now in an appalling state of repair and very run down. Termites have infested the property. It would have broken his heart to see his once beautiful home in its present condition. Additions such as a ghastly besser brick carport in front of the house have destroyed what was once a magnificent home. The rather grand fence still stands, albeit also run down, although the neighbouring property which was built on part of his land, has restored the fence to its original state.

Because of the many additions and conversions to the original building and its current state of repair, it does not qualify as a State Heritage Registered building, however, because of its age and historical importance to this city, it is on the B.C.C Heritage Register.

Philip built another house on the northern side of the street which he named “Trevarrick House”, in honour of his ancestral birthplace. According to the BCC report, Philip moved there after his wife's death in the early 1910's and remained there until his death in 1921, and is thought to be No. 20 Westbourne Street- Philip's and Martha's death certificates only state 'place of residence' as 'Westbourne Street', with no house number.
The house has been beautifully restored.

'Trevarrick House' Westbourne Street

(Titles Office, QLD)

In 1909, Philip Nott purchased the property in Westbourne Street (Subdivision 10 and re-subdivision 1 of subdivision 9, of Portion 153 Westbourne Street, now No. 20), which he bought in his wife Martha’s name, and built the house on the property. This may have been for investment purposes for his wife and subsequently their daughters. However, he may have been anticipating his financial problems, and the prospect of having to sell their home opposite and move to a smaller property that would not be caught up in any bankruptcy foreclosure.

As the Titles Office document above reveals, when Martha died in 1911, the property transferred to daughters Ella and Annie Isabel as their inheritance. In 1923, the year after Annie Isobel married Arnold Young, Ella must have sold her portion to her sister and her husband. The Youngs sold the property in 1928.

In 1985, the property was purchased by Geoffrey Grantham who continues to own the property to this day (viz. 2016). Over the years he has faithfully and sympathetically restored the house to a very high standard, and says most of the impressive workmanship is due to his friend, Owen Foale, who has worked hard to restore the house to its original condition, and also constructed the magnificent kitchen with ironbark benchtops and recycled tallowwood from the old Gloucester Street railway bridge.

Geoffrey Grantham has supplied the following photos and information about the house and its restoration for which I am very grateful. He also organised permission from Real Visuals to use their professional photos of the house, and I thank them also for granting permission.

Geoffrey describes:

I have always known that the house is ‘special’ in that it is particularly well constructed and appointed, for example cedar doors and cedar sash windows throughout. Two rooms downstairs were clearly original. The previous owners had modernised the house in some respects, adding a rear deck, converting a tiny bathroom into a toilet, and a nursery into a bathroom.

There has been only one substantial change since I bought it. Originally, the house had two large double bedrooms, the nursery, a dining room (now a large third bedroom), living room with an open fire, an open back verandah, kitchen, bathroom and small bedroom at the rear. We took out most of the wall between the kitchen and small bedroom, which opens onto the rear deck and overlooks the back garden.

The original wrought iron railings match those at the front and remained visible from the outside- one panel of sheeting was replaced to expose the wrought iron from the inside as well.

The renovations were obviously a labour of love, and as Geoffrey says “I loved it from the outset and have never lost my appreciation of it.” Geoffrey had a beautiful nameplate made for the house with the original name ‘Trevarrick', which is a lovely tribute to Philip Nott and the history of this street.

(With kind permission from Real Visuals and Geoffrey Grantham)

The nameplate origins of the houses named by Philip Nott as 'Trevenen' and 'Trevarrick'

Map of Philip's birthplace in Cornwall, named Trevarrick. Note Trevennen Farm to the left, the name chosen for his first house in Highgate Hill, Brisbane

Strangely, a Google satellite aerial view of Trevarrick Farm in Cornwall shows the farmhouse with two different names, viz. 'Trevennen Cottage' and 'Trevarrick Cottage'.
The building with the grey roof on the opposite side of the lane has a sign on the side wall saying "Trevarrick House".

NB Google Map has 'Trevennen Cottage' near Gorran in Cornwall

Closer Google Map has 'Trevarrick Cottage' for the same cottage, near Gorran in Cornwall

Trevarrick/Trevennen Cottage on left and Trevarrick House on right, in Cornwall

Post Office Directory Listings for South Brisbane

1874 Post Office Directory- not listed

1878 Post Office Directory Brisbane- P Nott carpenter Highgate Hill Sth Brisbane

1883 PO Directory -P. Nott- Westbourne St, Highgate Hill -south side, 2 houses Noble and Nott and one opposite.

1885 PO Directory- P Nott -Westbourne St off Highgate Hill 4 houses

1889 PO Directory- P. Nott -Westbourne St off Hampstead St on right side. James Nobel ironmonger and Philip Nott, builder contractor. Left side Ed Hobson watchmaker, unoccupied house, S.C. Olsen

A short street in South Brisbane was named Nott Street in his honour. However, at the beginning of the 20^th century, a well-known brothel operated in Nott Street, much to Phillip’s chagrin I suspect. The brothel was still operating in the 1940’s. It now contains industrial buildings.

Brisbane 1888 - ink drawing by Clarson

Death and Burial

Philip Nott died on 3 June 1921 at the age of 82 and is buried in Sth Brisbane Cemetery. His wife, Martha died 17 December 1911. They are buried with four of their children.

Nott family grave at Sth Brisbane cemetery

Issue of Philip Nott and Martha Jane Wright

i. FLORA AMY NOTT, b. July-Sept 1870 Kensington, London England¹; d. 1949; m. ALEXANDER REID 1898.

ii. JANE NOTT, b. April 03, 1873, Brisbane Queensland, Australia²; d. April 04, 1873³.

iii. ELEANOR ELIZABETH NOTT, b. June 16, 1874, Brisbane Queensland, Australia⁴; d.1906; married THOMAS WILLIAM MOSS 1897.

iv. ALFRED HUGH NOTT, b. December 25, 1875, Brisbane Queensland, Australia⁵; d. 1940; married MARGARET MORROW 1905.

v. JOSEPH HERBERT NOTT, b. March 08, 1879, Brisbane Queensland, Australia⁶; d. January 04, 1916⁷; m. JULIA AMELIA POWELL 1910

vi. ELLA CLARIBEL NOTT, b. July 19, 1880, Brisbane Queensland, Australia⁸; d. 1960; unmarried.

vii. IDA LOUISE NOTT, b. September 08, 1883, Brisbane Queensland, Australia⁹; d.1904; unmarried.

viii. SYDNEY EWART NOTT, b. August 10, 1885, Brisbane Queensland, Australia¹⁰; d. April 11, 1916.

ix. PHILIP ROWLING NOTT, b. May 07, 1887, Brisbane Queensland, Australia¹¹ ; d. August 2, 1945, Brisbane Queensland, Australia; marr. MYRA LILLIAN POULSEN September 11, 1916 .

x. NORMAN SEARLE NOTT, b. November 17, 1888, Brisbane Queensland, Australia¹²; d. 1963; m. ETHEL PARKER 1916

xi. ANNIE ISABEL NOTT, b. August 17, 1890, Brisbane Queensland, Australia¹³; d. Unknown (after 1964), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; m. June 14, 1922 ¹⁴ ARNOLD DAVID MAXWELL YOUNG (b. 3 July 1895 Qld)

1. Free BMD. UK- Births Sept 1870, Vol. 1a, page 90

2. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1873/B015609.

3. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1873/B007750.

4. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1874/B017574.

5. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1876/B020190.

6. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1879/B024704.

7. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages. index no. 1916/B22604

8. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1880/B026730.

9. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1883/B031160.

10. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1885/Bo34861.

11. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1887/B038906; marriage NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, index no 19853/1892

12. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1888/B042431

13. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1890/B046752
14. QLD Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, index no 1922/B030203

14 April 2013

Ch:4- Settling in Brisbane