Easton Terrace: 138-158 Charles Street. Abbotsford, Victoria

Easton Terrace is one of Melbourne’s longest rows of polychrome terrace houses, right in the middle of Charles Street Precinct, one of Melbourne’s most uniform Victorian workers cottage streetscapes.  Abbotsford is one of the few areas in inner Melbourne to remain working class right up until the 2000s when gentrification began due primarily to the proximity of the city.  There are still many working class households and as a result many of the suburbs terraces are still waiting restoration – others however appear beyond salvation.

While Easton Terrace appears at first glance to be quite plain in the parapet hiding the roof and marked only by the central signage and vermiculated panels within a set of four pilasters to each.  Only one of  the terraces retains its original decorative urns.   The most remarkable attributes of these terraces, however, is revealed on closer inspection and is mostly obscured – a patterned polychrome brickwork which uses strong red-brown, black and white in a stunning combination.  The party walls are dressed in alternating horizontal bands of black and white with vermiculated panels and female heads.  Behind a fine cast iron lacework screen is a zig-zag row of star like shapes in polychrome brick.  Only a few of the terraces have had their original brickwork either survive being painted over or stripped back and restored.   The original parapet was unpainted.  There is only one double hung window on each of the two levels.

Like much of Abbotsford, Easton Terrace is only afforded local protection, via the City of Yarra’s heritage overlay (HO313) which covers much of the Charles Street Heritage Precinct.

I’m unsure of the date or architect, however given the polychrome design I would presume it to be mid 1880s.