What is significant?
The row of four terrace houses at 186-192 Clarke Street Northcote was constructed in bi-chromatic brickwork by William Harrison in 1888 on the brow of Rucker’s Hill. The terrace is built into the hill such that it is two storey to the street and three storey to the rear. The building overlooks the flat below where in the 1880s George Plant established a trotting track and where the Northcote Cricket Club once played. The rear of the terrace is unusual for its architectural detailing with parapets and verandahs echoing the front (northern) elevation. Internally each of the houses possesses a staircase which formerly led onto the roof. This arrangement is said to have been connected with viewing the trotting activities on the course below. The terrace is in good condition with alterations being confined mainly to a single storey modern addition to the rear of each. Some parapet and cast iron decoration is missing, there has been some infilling or glazing of rear verandahs, and the front facades have been painted.
How is it significant?
The Terrace Houses at 186-192 Clarke Street Northcote are of architectural and historical importance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
The Terrace Houses at 186-192 Clarke Street Northcote are architecturally and historically important as the only known Victorian-era terrace in Victoria to possess two similar opposing facades and is consequently rare among contemporary terraces. The dramatic hillside siting and the probable connection with Plant’s trotting track add to its historical interest.