August 2017:
South Melbourne Primary School, later known as Dorcas Street, built 1880 for 1000 pupils (!), designed by #CharlesWebb in his often used brown and cream #polychromebrick, this time in a strongly #TudorRevival style.
One of the few schools with original windows, because they were tall square headed ones, rather than narrow Gothic ones. Converted to flats c1997 after premier Kennett closed a lot of falling enrolment inner city schools. Now of course the ones that are left are bursting, and new expensive ‘vertical’ ones are being built.
Update : the new South Melbourne Primary is now pretty full.
I know Charles Webb was a very busy architect in Melbourne and am particularly familiar with his Church of Christ, Royal Arcade and the Windsor Hotel all in town. Even in Bendigo the stock exchange was famous. But they all reflected his taste for elegant Renaissance Revival.
So who requested the Tudor Revival style for Dorcas St Primary School – Webb himself or the Education Dept?
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Yes it was one of the competition winners and all of them were Gothic or Tudor, and only a few were actually built – but Webb got to do this one and Yarra Primary on Hoddle Street, both Tudor, not sure any others in this style.
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