Fleming House

Built by 1896, extended in c1917

Fleming House (former male patient ward 5) is a two-storey brick building standing at the southeast corner of the Male Patient Area and is the oldest extant building in the area.  A purpose-built male ward building, it is surrounded by lawns and mature trees and faces north toward the Recreation Grounds.  It has wide 'L" shaped verandahs at each front corner of its ground floor and retains c1917 extensions (rear ablutions block; northeast pantry).

In 2020 the building is vacant and highly intact.

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Features of Fleming House of state-level cultural heritage significance also include:

• Form, scale and materials: two-storey, freestanding polychrome brick structure with timber-framed verandahs, floors, and hip roof; attached one-storey ablutions block on the rear (c1917) with pyramid roof with a lantern, and its attached boiler room with a skillion roof and brick chimney; and one-storey pantry/kitchen extension (c1917) on its northeast corner with a skillion roof, and its attached timber-battened enclosure.

• Layout: (similar ground and first-floor layouts) large front room with central projecting front entrance bay (ground floor - day room and dormitory; first floor - open dormitory); a rear row of single patient rooms, and attendant's rooms, with small projecting rooms (storerooms and toilets) at both ends; central rear stair hall with attached rear ablutions block.

• Architectural detailing for incarcerated patient management (security, safety, and hygiene):

Orientation and views out from the day room, dormitories, and verandahs to the Recreation Grounds and its cricket oval

Efficient and logical room layouts; wards of dormitories and single rooms; communal ablutions for males only; centralised supplies stores

• Robust and cleanable/hygienic materials and finishes: face brick exterior walls; concrete sills and lintels; plaster interior walls; ceramic wall and floor tiles, free-standing bath, and terrazzo partitions (bathroom); corrugated metal roof cladding; cast iron and metal water goods

• Measures for safety, security, and observation of patients: rounded and covered external and internal wall and floor corners; observation panels in doors to single rooms, with high-level fanlights over high levels of natural light and ventilation to the interior: spacious rooms with high ceilings; battened eaves; large glazed and vented roof lantern

• Original joinery: eaves brackets; multi-paned double-hung windows (fixed and operable); internal doors (glazed and solid); moulded architraves; board-lined ceilings and timber shelving in ablutions block 

• Open lawn surrounded with mature trees including a fig to the north, and a mango, jacaranda, camphor laurel and Indian siris to the east.