Opened 1843 (1843) | ||
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Address Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy, VIC 3068, Australia Similar Carlton Inn, Punters Club, Empress Hotel - Fitzroy N, Young & Jackson, Esplanade Hotel | ||
The Devonshire Arms Hotel was a public house located in Fitzroy, in the state of Victoria, Australia.
Contents
Map of Devonshire Arms, Fitzroy VIC 3065, Australia
History
The Devonshire Arms was located on Fitzroy Street, south of Gertrude Street. It opened in 1843, and although ceases to operate as a hotel, is currently Fitzroy's oldest surviving building. It is also Melbourne's oldest known extant hotel.
The hotel was erected and owned for 50 years by local entrepreneur Francis Clark. Clark had arrived in Melbourne in 1840, and became manager of James Palmer's lemonade and soda factory. He opened a butcher's shop near the corner of Bourke Street and Elizabeth Street in 1845, and later another shop in Richmond. He bought speculative property around Fitzroy and Alphington, and lived a prosperous life. Although he hailed from Essex, the hotel was given the name Devonshire Arms, owing to the pre-goldrush population of the area being principally from the south-west of England.
The building is now part of St Vincent's Hospital, housing the hospital's Department of Addiction (ironic considering the building's past).
The site is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and is included a Heritage Overlay.