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Timothy's Toys
On a Right of Way off Croke Lane, the building with the Dutch gable has the street address 1 Croke Lane, tho it is not actually on the Lane but on a ROW which continues as far as (but probably not into) the rear of Lionel Samson & Co. in Cliff Street. Said building is, on this site, called Timothy's Toys.
Library:
Timothy's Toys was established in Croke Lane in 1983 by Gordon and Mary Kay. It was named after their son, Timothy. The building is in the Cape Dutch style and was originally used as a woolstore.
Heritage Council:
WAREHOUSE, (FMR TIMOTHY'S TOYS), LOT 11, 1 CROKE LANE
AUTHOR: z Fremantle ARCHIVED 201216
PLACE NUMBER 22542
LOCATION: Lot 11,1 Croke Lane Fremantle
Constructed from 1903
Heritage List: YES 08 Mar 2007
CATEGORY: Municipal Inventory, Adopted 18 Sep 2000 Level 1B
Statement of Significance:
Warehouse, 1 Croke Lane has historic and representative significance as an example of a stone industrial building in the Old Port City of Fremantle dating from 1903. The place has aesthetic and historic significance as an example of prominent architect Sir Joseph Talbot Hobbs' work in the Victorian Georgian style.
Physical Description:
Warehouse, 1 Croke Lane is a two storey stone building situated off Croke Lane. The building has brick quoining edging to the parapet, The central entrance has timber framed glazed doors on both levels with a small balcony to the first floor; there is a winch on a bracket above.
History:
Warehouse, 1 Croke Lane is located down a lane off Croke Lane, behind 37-45 Cliff St. The records reveal a number of buildings located on lots 11 & 12 from as early as 1868, when the Fremantle Literary Institute amalgamated with the Working Men's Association and was housed in a small building at the corner of Cliff and Dalgety (Croke Lane) streets. The rates records show George Shenton as the owner from 1881. At this time the records reveal a warehouse and office on lot 11, and buildings on lot 12 as a cottage, 2 warehouses, and offices. This building is likely to be part of this group (37-45 Cliff Street). In 1896, a new two storey building was erected for Elder Shenton and Co to the designs of J. Talbot Hobbs, for the sum of £1, 326. It ran the length of lot 11, with a distinctive facade facing the ROW. The date 1896 appears on the facade of this building. The Croke street facade of the building bears the date 1903 (noting the completion date). The building was used for some years until 1997 as “Timothy’s Toys" where primarily wooden toys were made and sold. In 1997 it was purchased and used as a private residence.
Integrity/Authenticity:
High degree of integrity (original intent clear, current use compatible, high long term sustainability). High degree of authenticity with much original fabric remaining. (These statements based on street survey only).
Condition:
Condition assessed as good (assessed from streetscape survey only).
The Fremantle MHI management category for this place was amended and adopted by the decision of Council on 28/09/2011.
Creation Date: 06 May 2002
Last Update: 22 Mar 2019
Hutchison: Down a lane beside this building are two limestone facades, one of them with a simple form of Dutch gable. They may be the only surviving facades from the 1830s and may have been part of the original Shenton Building.
References and Links
Heritage Council (as above).
Hutchison, David 2006, Fremantle Walks, FACP.
I think I took the top photo. The bottom one is by David Hutchison, from the book. The b/w photo is courtesy Fremantle City Library and was taken by Skip Watkins in 1988, ref #2508.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 16 January, 2021 and hosted at freotopia.org/buildings/timothystoys.html (it was last updated on 14 April, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.