Chesterfield Inn | |
---|---|
Alternative names | Chesterfield HouseRockingham Arms |
General information | |
Type | Inn |
Architectural style | Vernacular Queen Anne Revival style |
Location | Chesterfield Road, East Rockingham, Western Australia |
Coordinates | 32°15′51″S115°46′40″E / 32.26417°S 115.77778°E |
Official name | Chesterfield Inn (former) |
Type | State Registered Place |
Designated | 27 June 2003 |
Reference no. | 2325 |
Construction started | 1855 |
The Chesterfield Inn and its stables are State Register of Heritage Places-listed buildings in East Rockingham, Western Australia. The Inn was built in 1855 in the vernacular Queen Anne Revival style and is the oldest commercial building in its area.
The former inn and its stables are part of the East Rockingham Heritage Precinct, which also includes other State Register of Heritage Places, such as Bell Cottage ruin, Hymus House and Day Cottage.
The Chesterfield Inn lies on what was one of the earliest land grants, and is one of the earliest buildings in the Rockingham region. It functioned as a stopping point for travellers on the Fremantle to Mandurah road and also briefly functioned as a post office from 1915 to 1918, the first in the region. [1] The former stables of the inn, located approximately 300 metres (980 ft) north, are also state heritage listed. [2]
The inn was a popular spot for couples on honeymoon because of its distance from both Fremantle and Perth. [3]
James Herbert, a local publican who had previously operated the Bush Inn in the district, purchased the land on which the Chesterfield Inn stands and obtained a liquor licence in January 1857 for the Rockingham Arms, the future Chesterfield Inn. In 1867, Herbert sold the inn to William Rewell, with ownership subsequently transferred to Andrew Seubert in 1870 and William Summers in 1874. [4]
The Rockingham Arms became the Chesterfield Inn in the 1890s, having been purchased by John Chester in 1876. Chester eventually transferred ownership to his daughters Caroline and Eliza in 1890. [4]
The inn was originally constructed as a two storey building but almost destroyed by a fire around 1910 or 1911, after which it was rebuilt as a single storey dwelling, now owned by Ernest and Selina Huxtable. [3] [4]
After the death of the last licensee, a Mr Huxtable, a change in the state's licensing laws, and the relocation of the main road, the Chesterfield Inn stopped functioning as such but retained its name, and featured in a series of articles on historic Western Australian homesteads in the Western Mail in late 1939. [3]
The former inn also served as an encampment for the 10th Light Horse Regiment, from 1912, as a private dwelling and a dairy farm before becoming a youth hostel in 1979. A fire damaged the building in 1992 and it remained unoccupied from then on, its condition deteriorating until renovations by LandCorp took place in 2017. A security fence was installed, later non-heritage listed additions to the building removed, the front wall repaired and the roof restored in view of future occupancy. [5] [4]
The Chesterfield Inn is part of the East Rockingham Heritage Precinct, which also includes other State Register of Heritage Places, such as the Bell Cottage ruin, Hymus House, Day Cottage and the Mead Homestead, as well as heritage listed places on the municipal inventory like the East Rockingham Cemetery. [6] The former inn was added to the State Register of Heritage Places on 27 June 2003, [4] and is the oldest commercial building in its area. [5]
The Town of East Fremantle is a local government area in the southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, located immediately northeast of the port city of Fremantle and about 17 kilometres (11 mi) southwest of Perth's central business district. The Town covers an area of 3.1 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi), maintains 46 km of roads and had a population of over 7,000 as at the 2016 Census.
The City of Kwinana is a local government area of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 118 square kilometres in metropolitan Perth, and lies about 38 km south of the Perth central business district, via the Kwinana Freeway. Kwinana maintains 287 km of roads and had a population of almost 39,000 as at the 2016 Census.
East Rockingham is an industrial suburb within the Kwinana Industrial Area, part of Perth, and located within the City of Rockingham.
Peron is an outer southern suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, and is located within the City of Rockingham.
The Town of Cottesloe is a local government area in the western suburbs of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It covers the suburb of the same name as well as a tiny portion of the suburb of Claremont. Cottesloe is located 11 kilometres (7 mi) west of Perth's central business district, covers an area of 3.9 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi), maintains 45.7 km of roads and had a population of approximately 7,500 as at the 2016 Census. Cottesloe is served by Swanbourne, Victoria Street, Grant Street and Cottesloe train stations, all operated through the Fremantle Railway Line. Various bus routes operate along Stirling Highway, enabling transport through the suburb's western and eastern precincts with Perth and Fremantle. All services are operated by the Public Transport Authority. The Town of Cottesloe's inclusion of walk and cycle paths enable it to be a walkable precinct.
The City of Rockingham is a council and local government area, comprising the south coastal suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth.
The Shire of Boyup Brook is a local government area located in the South West region of Western Australia, about 270 kilometres (168 mi) southeast of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of 2,829 square kilometres (1,092 sq mi) and its seat of government is the town of Boyup Brook.
The State Register of Heritage Places is the heritage register of historic sites in Western Australia deemed significant at the state level by the Heritage Council of Western Australia.
The Peron Battery, at Cape Peron, was the southernmost of the Fremantle Fortress coastal defence batteries in Western Australia. Also referred to as K Heavy Battery, it was established in January 1943 and, like the Challenger Battery on near-by Garden Island, it was equipped with two mobile 155 mm guns. Additionally, it also operated two 18-pounder guns which were withdrawn once the Collie Secondary Battery became operational on Garden Island. The duty of the main guns was to cover the southern access to Cockburn Sound while the 18-pounder guns protected the a boom net which spanned between Cape Peron and Garden Island. The main battery was withdrawn again in December 1944 but the observation post and one of the Panama mounts of the Peron Battery are still preserved and accessible.
The Bell Cottage ruin is a State Register of Heritage Places-listed ruined Victorian Georgian style cottage in East Rockingham, Western Australia. The ruin is on one of the earliest land grants in the Rockingham area and is one of the oldest structures in the area. It is associated with the Bell family, especially James and Jane Bell, early pioneers in the region. Jane Bell gained public attention in 1840 after the death of her child, conceived after being raped; she was incarcerated for two years on Rottnest Island. In 1876 James Bell was an eyewitness to the Fenian escape from Fremantle Gaol and raised the alarm.
Day Cottage, also referred to as Ellendale, is a State Register of Heritage Places-listed Victorian-style cottage in East Rockingham, Western Australia.
The Rockingham Hotel is a historic hotel and pub in Rockingham, Western Australia, its origins dating back to 1886, when Rockingham was an important export location for Western Australian timber.
Hymus House is a State Register of Heritage Places-listed Victorian bungalow style house in East Rockingham, Western Australia.
Picton is a suburb of the City of Bunbury in the South West region of Western Australia. Both the South Western Highway and the South Western Railway dissect the suburb from east to west.