Down the laneway, back in time.
The former Excelsior Bakery is part of Fitzroy North’s history.
The original brick bakehouse on the site at 390A Queens Parade was built in 1902 for Mr James Willmott. It was here that goods were baked for his bakery at 392 Queens Parade (currently the Cookshop Rotisserie).
The Excelsior Bakery had been serving the people of Melbourne’s inner north as far back as 1887. A newspaper advertisement from 1889 describes Mr Willmott as a baker and pastry cook, with weddings and birthday cakes being his specialty.
James Willmott passed away in 1933, but the location continued to be associated with baked goods as the home of the Ideal Shortbread Company until 1966. In 1940, another printed advertisement claimed that Ideal made “the penny shortbread of the century”.
“Melbourne has a rich laneway culture. Combined with the local character of bluestone and heritage Victorian-era terraces, this is a unique setting for a new design to take shape.”
CHRIS MANTON, JAM ARCHITECTS
Local heritage has informed the architecture of Bakehouse Terraces, from the extensive use of brickwork to the window arrangements and compositions of each residence. The site’s surviving bakehouse building has also been retained and integrated across the design, most notably in the signature façade.
