The Edwards and Chapman Building is a heritage-listed retail

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

at 120 Queen Street, Brisbane City,

City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of Greater Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. The LGAs in the other mainland state capitals ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It was designed by

Francis Drummond Greville Stanley Francis Drummond Greville Stanley (1839–1897) was an architect in Queensland, Australia. He was the Queensland Colonial Architect. Many of his designs are now heritage-listed buildings. Early life Stanley was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 1 ...

and built from 1881 to 1882 by Henry Holmes. It was added to the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

This building was erected as a retail warehouse during 1881–1882 and occupied by Edwards and Chapman in December 1882. Welsh businessman Richard Edwards joined Scotsman James Chapman in the establishment of a drapery store in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in 1877. Successful in their venture, the two required larger premises and in September 1881 acquired deeds of grant to Allotments 13, 13A and 14 of Section 12. The convict barracks, later first parliamentary buildings and supreme court had stood on this site from 1827 until its demolition in early 1881. A government decision to dispose of this Crown land prompted the redevelopment of the northern side of Queen street bounded by the old

Brisbane Town Hall Brisbane Town Hall may refer to: * Brisbane City Hall, the current building in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia * First Brisbane Town Hall, the first town hall in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (no longer extant) {{dab ...

(in 2016, the NEXT Hotel site) and Albert Street. Ex-Colonial Architect Francis DG Stanley supervised the construction of the building by contractor H Holmes. With a frontage of to Queen Street and a depth of , this substantial warehouse incorporated features designed to "meet the requirements of a tropical climate". The three storey building with basement was notable for its ceilings, and had an oval opening in each floor. This device was intended to allow ventilation and better light dispersion. A hydraulic-powered Otis lift was also incorporated in the building. The company was dissolved when Richard Edwards retired in 1891 and James Chapman obtained title to the site in May of that year. As Chapman and Company the business diversified into soft furnishings and furniture. In 1923 extensive alterations were carried out to the shopfronts by SS Carrick under the guidance of architectural firm Hall and Prentice. The work necessitated the insertion of steel columns and girders into the existing stonework. Chapmans sold the building in 1938 ending the a 56-year association with the site. Subsequently, the building has been occupied by many other retail businesses. In 1992 when the building was listed on the

, it was occupied by the women's clothing store

Sportsgirl Sportsgirl is an Australian clothing chain owned and operated by ARG Group. History The first Sportsgirl store opened in 1948 as an alternative to its sister label, Sportscraft, on Swanston Street, Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung ...

. In 2016, the basement level was occupied by a pharmacy. The building is now occupied on the three upper levels by City Beach, a Queensland-based fashion retailer.

Description

The Edwards and Chapman Building located at 120 Queen Street dates from the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

and was designed by FDG Stanley with ornate Italianate detailing. It consists of three storeys with a basement and an attic level. It has a simple rectangular plan with brick back and side walls and a richly ornamented front. The rear of the building is

polychrome brickwork Polychrome brickwork is a style of architectural brickwork in which bricks of different colours are used to create decorative patterns or highlight architectural features in the walls of a building. Historically it was used in the late Gothic per ...

while the front also uses lightly coloured Oamaru limestone. At street level facing Queen Street there is presently a modern shop front with a central doorway flanked by shop windows, and a suspended

awning An awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of Acrylic fiber, acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tight ...

above. The first floor level has a projecting

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window generally projects from an ...

with flanking arcades. The original detail of the bay window has been replaced with a modern glazed structure. The arcading is composed of round-headed arches supported on partially fluted

pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

, with Corinthian

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

. Recessed behind the arches are plate glass windows. The second floor level has round headed window openings in line with the arches on the level below. These openings have decorative hood mouldings, and prominent

keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

acanthus leaves The acanthus () is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration in the architectural tradition emanating from Greece and Rome. Architecture In architecture, an ornament may be carved into stone or wood to resemble ...

. The facade is finished with a

dentilled A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...

string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

which is the base of a Corinthian

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

with Italianate

balustrading A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

. A

vase A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non- rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree specie ...

is located above a

pedestal A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

at each end and centred above the parapet is a triangular

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

. This has the words "ERECTED 1882" engraved on the surface. Internally the building has suffered with its changing ownership, but although the original internal

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

have been encased some traces of their original decoration remain. The rear polychrome brick facade of the building has a carefully composed elevation of arched openings with the stone base partially exposed. Little has changed to this facade since it was first constructed apart from the bricking up of some of the openings and the installation of modern entry doors for access from

Burnett Lane The Early Streets of Brisbane is a heritage-listed archaeological site at sections of Albert Street, George Street, William Street, North Quay, and Queen's Wharf Road in Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built ...

. The building is part of a group of surviving Victorian commercial buildings that are prominent in this portion of Queen Street.

Heritage listing

The Edwards and Chapman Building was listed on the

on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The building is important in demonstrating the evolution of Queensland's history, in particular the secondary phase of development in Queen Street during the early 1880s, initiated by the disposal of the convict barracks. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The building demonstrates the principal characteristics of the commercial work of Brisbane architect, FDG Stanley and of a Victorian era commercial building with ornate Italianate detailing. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. The building is important in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics valued by the community, in particular, its contribution to the streetscape of Queen Street as part of a group of surviving 1880s commercial buildings.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Edwards and Chapman Building Queensland Heritage Register Heritage of Brisbane Buildings and structures in Brisbane Brisbane central business district Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Warehouses in Queensland