Description

Northbrook is a Victorian Italianate villa built in 1888–1889 to the design of architect Charles D’Ebro. The house was originally set on 2.5 acres of gardens facing High Street and included a 160-square-metre ballroom, timber outbuildings and brick stables.

Northbrook features a small portico with a pressed-metal ceiling, elaborate mouldings and a balustrade parapet. The black-and-white marble floor of the entrance foyer leads to the main vaulted vestibule, featuring heavily panelled timber walls, a large overmantle with inlet mirrors and detailed encaustic tiles in the fire surround.

The two smaller vestibules leading into the morning and dining rooms feature elaborate, stencilled-and-gilded vaulted ceilings with cherubs, while the rooms themselves boast elaborate cornices, ceilings, centre roses and overmantles. In the dining room is timber panelling, as well as three built-in sideboards and a large overmantle.

The building has been owned by the council since the mid–1940s, and the Stonnington History Centre has occupied the building since 2008. A branch of the Library and Information Services, the centre maintains the council's extensive archives.

What's On

Visit Northbrook and learn about its history with a self-guided tour of the building and archive rooms. View a selection of items in Stonnington’s local history collection, which includes photographs, maps, plans, newspapers and general history information.