| Address: | 44 Gellibrand Street |
|---|---|
| Suburb: | Queenscliff |
1882-83
Built by wealthy Melbourne brewer and businessman Edward Latham, Lathamstowe from its inception served as a sanatorium for the Melbourne Anglican clergy in the form of two, double storey holiday terraces.
The building is thought to have been costly to maintain for the clergy, with one first–hand account by a housekeeper noting:
…troughs leaked, horsehair mattresses were sinking in the middle and paint was flaking off from the ceiling. One family arrived and the little boys ran upstairs to their flat crying “mummy, come and look, the ceiling is in the bath”. (R. Runting, Lathamstowe, book series no.3, Queenscliffe Historical Museum, 2006).
More recently, the building has served as a bed and breakfast venue while currently it serves as a sole residence. Controversially, the Italian Buckthorn hedge that encloses Lathamstowe’s yard is also listed on the Victorian Heritage Register even with its conflicting status as a noxious weed.
Sharing more than just an architect and builder in William J. Ellis and Thomas Dally respectively, the adjacent developments of the Ozone Hotel and Lathamstowe somewhat played a role in the procurement of family ties – specifically the marriage of Edward Latham’s daughter, Bertha, and James Bailleu’s son, William. This was further strengthened through the marriage of Latham himself to his son in law’s sister, Emma Bailleu.
(Lovell Chen Architects. ‘Individual Property Citation’, Queenscliffe Heritage Study, 2009).
'Lathamstowe', 1920. (Image courtesy of the Queenscliffe Historical Museum).
‘Clergical Sanatorium at Queenscliff’, Geelong Advertiser, 24 April 1883. (Image courtesy of Trove National Library of Australia).
‘Clerics’ Haven in Need’, The Argus, 9 November 1954, page 4. (Image courtesy of Trove National Library of Australia).
