Broadland House Church of England Girls Grammar School

 

'THE BUILDINGS'

Lyttleton Street, Launceston

 

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Pisė Building - Broadland Campus

 

Leoni Dolley, loves to delve into Tasmanian history and has long been fascinated as to the origins of the Pisė building in Lyttleton Street, now occupied and owned by Launceston Church Grammar School where she is employed as a cleaner.

Her knowledge for history has now provided information on the origins of this historic building.

Leoni, an avid historian has searched Trove and succeeded where others haven’t.

Members of the Broadland Old Girls Association are especially grateful to Leoni as the building was damaged by winter rains and vacated mid 2021.

Her discovery along with archival photos of previous restorations aided Faulkner Building in the 2020-2021 restoration.

Dona Bradley 03 January 2023.

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References:    Ancestry, Google search and Trove

The builder

Convict:               Fernando RIVA

Crime:                  Stealing

Ship:                     Aurora

Departure:           18.06.1835

Fernando RIVA (or Riva FERNANDO) was convicted at York 22 Oct 1834 for stealing a gold watch and money. Previous offence for receiving stolen goods. 14yr sentence. Transported to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) per the ‘Aurora’ 1835. Ship’s report - well behaved.

Aged 28yrs; 5’8 1/2”; glass maker; Roman Catholic; can read & write; married, 1 child.
Native Place: Lake Como, Italy.
Wife - Catherine, at Sheffield, England.
Parents - Stephane, a publican.
5 brothers & sisters - Peter, Antonio, Adolphina, Gratiane & May (?) (4 at native place, 1 at Sheffield.

Assignments of work service in the Colony of VDL.
1835: at Launceston, Tasmania
1839: at Perth, Tasmania
1839: charged with Larceny - 12 months imprisonments with hard labour.
1840: at Campbell Town, Tasmania
1841: at Longford, Tasmania
1848: Census - recorded as living in Charles St. Launceston.
1845: Conditional Pardon approved.

7 April 1842: Ticket of leave granted.

Convict Changes History

Nell Murphy on 14th August, 2016 made the following changes:

source: Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 90, Class and Piece Number HO11/10, Page Number 99 (52). Tasmanian Archives - convicts. (prev. Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 90, Class and Piece Number HO11/10, Page Number 99 (52

 

Mercury 21.07.1860 - Death

RIVA. July 16, at his residence, Charles-street, Launceston, Mr. Ferdinand Riva, aged 51 years.

 

Refer also

• The Examiner Monday      19.04.1920           The Pise de Terre House    ‘Parts of this article very hard to read’

• The Examiner Saturday     24.07.1920          Pise De Terre

• Building Photo Album & Building scrap book Montessori Cupboard Broadland Archives

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The Examiner Monday 19 April 1920

MIRACLE OF CHEAPNESS THE PISE DE TEIRRE HOUSE

During the next 10 years more new houses will be built under every sky and certainly in Great Britain and Australia than are usually built in a century. For the nations are rehousing themselves, and many causes combine to bring this about. In Australia, for example; we are building homes for the men back from the front. and shall spend many ungrudged millions in the task. The same thing is being done in New Zealand, Canada, and in Great Britain. The new standard of comfort and of civilised life, again, which is emerging, finds expression in the creation of a better type of house everywhere. Great Britain is spending £335,000,000 in the erection of new homes.

A CALL FOR RAPID CONSTRUCTION

 

Thousands of clever brains are at work to discover the quickest way of building houses that shall be cheap, enduring, and comfortable. And amongst the many competing styles of house what is called the Pise (or Pise de Terre - to give its full name) attracts great attention. Every kind of merit is claimed for it; it is amazingly cheap, but has an amazing solidarity and endurance.

The Pise house is not new. it is as old almost as the Tower of Babel. The London "Spectator," which is an enthusiastic advocate of Pise houses, and whose editor is building one himself to demonstrate the merits of the system, tells us:

“Pliny discussed it nearly 2000 years ago. His definition of pise, or as he calls it, formarean ? walls, as earth rammed hard between boards, given in the VIth Book of the National History remains the best definition as also the most interesting. He notes that neither frost nor heat nor cold has any effect on the walls, which indeed are so imperishable that watch towers built by Hannibal on the tops of the hills in Spain remain to this day There are pre-historic pise buildings in 'New Mexico and Arizona which are said to be at least 400 years old."

WHAT IS PISE DE TERRE?

A Pise house is built of pure earth, rammed and beaten in thin layers within lines of boards acting as a mould, until it takes the consistency of stone, and is as enduring as stone. The walls thus built are impervious to damp or to any form of burrowing or gnawing life, The house is cool in summer, warm in winter; it is absolutely weather proof, and is amazingly cheap. Always supposing that the necessary wooden shuttering is provided, a man can build and finish the walls of a Pise house himself, and get the material for doing it out of the nearest paddock.

The house built by the editor of the "Spectator" has six rooms arranged on one floor of areas, and eubical ? contents as laid down in the higher "schedules of accommodation" by the  Ministry of Health. The walls are of 18in. solid Pise work, the roof of red Bridgewater tiles, and the chimney breasts and stacks of brickwork.

The floors are boarded, save for the back kitchen, which is tiled. The inner partitions are of 2in. breeze blocks, the ceilings are plastered, and the easement windows are of steel.

There are two good lofts for storage, one entered from the barn, which is an extension of the house proper. The pillars of the barn and the partition wall between scullery and verandah are of 18in. by 9in. by 9in., rammed earth blocks; the angle pillar to the verandah is of similar blocks made from soft chalk.

The rest of the structure is of monolithic Pise, built up in situ without joints of any kind, either horizontally or vertically. The total cost of the whole of the outer walling of the house (in Pise) amounted to less than £20. Had the walls been built of brickwork the cost would have exceeded £200.

SPECULATION

The following is an abridged extract from the specification so far as it affects the Pise builder:

(1) Excavate to a depth of 9in. over the site, dumping the turf and surface humus where directed. This soil is not to be used for building.

(2) Lay in tin bed of cement and flint concrete. 3ft wide under outer walls. Centrally on this, lay two courses of brickwork in cement, to a width of 18in, or build up to the same extent in concrete. Lay on this an approved dampproof course; if (sic) of (sic) slates, having a further course of brickwork or concrete above it to prevent fracture when ramming.

 

(3) Erect the wall according to the plan on the bases thus formal. Carrying them up plump and true and properly bonded by working round the building course by course. using the special angle-pieces at the corners to keep the work continuous and homogeneous.

(4) The soil immediately on this site to be used without admixture (sic) of any sort, and to be thrown direct into the shutterings. No water to be added.

(5) The boxes are to be filled in thin layers of not more than 4in. at a time, and well rammed until solid. The workmen are not to use their rammers in unison. Where door and window openings occur, the special 'stops" to be adjusted and firmly secured so as to withstand hard ramming. Two 4in. by 2in. by 9in. plugs to be built into each window jamb for the securing of the frames, and three to each door jamb. Special care to be taken in the thorough ramming at the corners and along the box edges.

(6) Insert below floor level where directed, 'i 3in. field drainage pipes to act as ventilators through the thickness of the wall. Insert wire mesh stops to exclude vermin.

(7) Set all frames square and plumb and where in outer walls, flush with finished exterior plaster-face, the joint being covered by a min. 2in by 2/3 in fillet. Provide plain picture rail round all rooms at window-head level, providing plugs for fixing where necessary. Secure to floor round all boarded rooms a 2in. by 1 1/2in angle fillet as skirting.

(8) The smooth surface of the Pise walling to be hammer chipped to give good key to the plaster. Before rendering or plastering walls any loose earth or dust to be removed with a stiff brush, and the wall surface evenly wetted. The rendering to be carried evenly "round” the wall the minor square angles being roughly chipped down first so as to obviate sharp corners. The main corners of the house are ready-rounded off to a 9in. radius by the special corner mould.

9) Bond brick and slab work to Pise walls by driving iron spikes into the latter every few courses at joint level and bedding in. Colour wash walls with tallow lime-whiting tinted with ochre. Provide 2ft. skirting of pitch applied hot, to form base-course round exterior of building. There is no patent or secret about the simplest method of building imaginable, and, so far as the country is concerned, of almost universal application. Somewhat crudely executed with primitive and cumbersome plant, it has long been practised in certain provinces of France and Spain. For small jobs (garden walls, sheds, farm buildings, etc.), the simplest home-made gear can be used effectively. Any wheelwright could make the requisite ??? and ??? in a few days.

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Examiner Saturday 24 April 1920 PISE DE TERRE

A LAUNCESTON SPECIMEN.

The particulars relating to the Pise de Terre House, as published in the "Examiner" on Monday, makes interesting reading (says our Burnie correspondent) in these days of inflated values in everything in the building trade. It may be news that a house built on these lines exists in Launceston. It was erected about 1858 to the order of a Spaniard named Ferdinand Riva, who at that time was conducting a watchmaker's business in Charles-street, adjacent to Beck's grocery establishment. The building stands in Lytteton-street just above the Elphin-road, and at the time of erection, approximately 60 years back, caused a good deal of adverse comment. The building several years after completion became the property of the late Archdeacon Hales, where he resided for many years. Mr. James Rattray, from whom this

information was obtained, was in the trade at Launceston before the days of cement, and supervised the erection of many buildings which are standing to-day on foundations composed of lime quartz, sand, and slag. The store occupied by Allan Stewart and Co., St. John-street, the foundations of which are of lime, sand, and broken bricks, is carrying a 14ft. (brick wall and a heavy roof.

In the early days rough casting and stucco work was carried out with lime and sand on to brickwork. St. Andrew's Church, adjoining the Mechanics' Institute, was treated in this manner, and has stood the weather for 71 years. Birchall's and Irvine and McEachern's premises in Brisbane-street were erected ten years previous to St. Andrew's, and compare favourably with many of the cement frontages of the present day.

In these days of cement shortages surely the lime deposits of Beaconsfield and other parts of Tasmania could be utilised for foundation work.

in the erection of brick or wooden buildings.

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