Historical information

The first section of Studley House, now part of the preparatory school for Xavier College conducted by the Society of Jesus in Kew, was built in about 1857 for Parliamentarian John Hodgson, an early settler in the district, as a two-storey residence in the Classical Revival style. The name Studley House was first recorded in the Kew ratebooks in 1862, after the house was purchased in 1860 by James McEvoy, squatter. Alterations and an extension, designed by William J Ellis were undertaken in 1875. The house was again altered in 1919 during the ownership of John Wren, former bookmaker, ALP lobbyist, influential Irish-Catholic and millionaire. After 1969 the house was used by the school. (Victorian Heritage Database, 2023)

Significance

This work forms part of the collection assembled by the historian Dorothy Rogers (1905-1973), donated to the Kew Historical Society by her son in 2015. The manuscripts, photographs, maps, and documents were sourced by her from both family and local collections or produced as references for her print publications. Many were directly used by Rogers in writing ‘Lovely Old Homes of Kew’ (1961) and 'A History of Kew' (1973), or the numerous articles on local history that she produced for suburban newspapers. Most of the photographs in the collection include detailed annotations in her hand. The Rogers Collection provides a comprehensive insight into the working habits of a historian from the 1960s to the 1970s.

Physical description

Original monochrome photograph of architectural elements used in the decorative scheme on the exterior of Studley House in Nolan Avenue, Kew. The POV is of the rendered and painted Doric columns forming the ground floor colonnade. Note the Victorian tessellated tiles used on the floor of the verandah.