The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. Most rooms in this historically and aesthetically significant house have stone (typically marble) fireplaces that are inset with plain and decorative tiles produced by the company of Mintons Ltd.Born digital photograph of the fireplace in the third bedroom of Villa Alba. The original 1880s black stone mantel, obliquely positioned in the southwest corner of the room (one of two examples in the house) is painted with a central group of three white roses. These are surrounded by flowers and foliage of jasmine that extend along the upper panel and down the sides of the mantel. It is believed that the addition of the painted flowers was completed by a freelance artist working for the Paterson Brothers; probably Ulysses Rizzi. The mantel is inset with two-tone surround tiles and decorative polychrome hearth tiles that incorporate a green ivy pattern which climbs up pieces of bamboo. Each tile is separated by a white and black border. All of the tiles were produced by Mintons Ltd.fireplaces, mintons, mintons - tiles, villa alba -- third bedroom

The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. Most rooms in this historically and aesthetically significant house have stone (typically marble) fireplaces that are inset with plain and decorative tiles produced by the company of Mintons Ltd.Born digital photograph of the pattern of the rectangular surround tiles in the third bedroom of Villa Alba. The tiles, which are painted in underglaze red and green have a central scrolling pattern of large six- and small four-petalled flowers in green. The border use Late Victorian neo-classical fretwork. All of the tiles were produced by Mintons Ltd.fireplaces, mintons, mintons - tiles, villa alba -- third bedroom

The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. Most rooms in this historically and aesthetically significant house have stone (typically marble) fireplaces that are inset with plain and decorative tiles produced by the company of Mintons Ltd.Born digital photograph of the pattern of the square hearth tiles in the third bedroom of Villa Alba. The glazed decorative tiles are painted in a pattern of climbing green ivy on a black base. The tiles have borders on two sides using a repeated black and white pattern. The tiles are laid so that the pattern of the ivy extends to the rear of the hearth. An oriental element with the design is the use of bamboo on which the ivy climbs. All of the tiles were produced by Mintons Ltd.fireplaces, mintons, mintons - tiles, villa alba -- third bedroom

The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. Most rooms in this historically and aesthetically significant house have stone (typically marble) fireplaces that are inset with plain and decorative tiles produced by the company of Mintons Ltd.Born digital photograph of the fireplace in the fourth bedroom of Villa Alba. This is the only replacement fire place setting in the house. It was purchased with the support of a grant from the Bendigo Community Bank - Kew East Branch. The mantel, like that in the. third bedroom features garlands of polychrome painted flowers on the three panels. The mantel is inset with monochrome surround and hearth tiles. The latter is incomplete, missing the front row. All of the tiles were produced by Mintons Ltd.fireplaces, mintons, mintons - tiles, villa alba - fourth bedroom

Built for William and Anna-Maria Greenlaw in the early 1880s, and with interiors decorated by the Paterson Bros, Villa Alba remained in private ownership until 1949. From 1950, the house was owned by a number of institutions. By 1984, the Villa Alba Preservation Society had been formed, and three years later, the Mount Royal Hospital granted a 25-year lease to Kew Council. In 2004, the title to Villa Alba was passed by the Victorian Government to The Villa Alba Museum Incorporated. The Museum, at 44 Walmer Street, Kew, is now a cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration.This is one of a number of historically and aesthetically significant photos of the interiors and exterior of Villa Alba when it was still owned by the Mount Royal Hospital, showing twentieth century accretions and deterioration of the historic fabric of the building. This was a benchmark survey against which future conservation and restoration activities can be measured.In December 1987, Mockridge Stahle & Mitchell Pty Ltd Architects prepared ‘Villa Alba Survey: A Report on the fabric for Mount Royal Hospital’ of which this photograph is a part. Photo of one chimney on the south west corner of the house. The distinctive rendering of the chimney cornets with the welsh slates used on the roof. This chimney services the fireplaces in the dining room and the second and third bedrooms. villa alba museum, conservation photographs, victorian architecture, slate roofs, chimneys