By 1885 the Ferguson & Urie stained glass company had reached the pinnacle of their success and the founders, James Ferguson & James Urie were now in a position to build their substantial homes. In the case of James Urie, he was going to build on one of the most sought after blocks of land in the borough of Flemington & Kensington.
North Melbourne Advertiser, Vic, Friday 18th September 1885, page 3.
“Councillor Urie is erecting a new house in Wellington street, and when finished, it will be one of the finest in the borough. The front is composed of patent white stone, and it will contain thirteen rooms. Mr. Duguid is the architect”.
James Urie’s house was to be known as “Glencairn” and it is now owned by the St Brendan’s Catholic Presbytery in Flemington. The name for the house ‘Glencairn’ undoubtedly has its origins back in Kilmarnock where his family lived in close proximity to ‘Glencairn Square’ in the early 1800’s.
Originally the house did have some original Ferguson & Urie stained glass windows in the lower panes of the front windows on the bottom floor, but these no longer exist. Refurbishments by St Brendan’s in the early 1900’s replaced the stained glass and various internal windows are now frosted or etched plain glass and an art deco era lead-light panel appears to the side of the front entrance.
The historical old photo of the house was taken circa 1900 and kindly contributed by Roslyn Hyde in December 2011. I took the recent photo of St Brendan’s on the 31st Jan 2011.
Related posts:
21-11-1865 >19-02-1874 > 18-09-1885 > 29-10-1886 > 23-07-1890 > 25-07-1890 > 29-08-1890 > 20-07-1899
1890: DEATH OF AN AYRSHIRE MAN IN AUSTRALIA
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Ferguson and Urie 