Queen Anne Revival - Reimagined for Education
Perched high above the Yarra River, Tay Creggan is one of Victoria’s most treasured Queen Anne Revival homes and now forms the Hawthorn Year 9 campus of Strathcona Girls Grammar. Here, architectural grandeur and women’s education intertwine in a setting of extraordinary beauty and history.
Designed and built in 1893 by Robert Guyon Purchas, Tay Creggan, Scottish for “house built on a rock,” was inspired by an Italian château admired during his European travels. Though later modified by subsequent owners, its architectural ambition endured, including the magnificent ballroom where an intended orchestra gallery was replaced with structural pillars still visible in the cellar today.
The façade captivates with turrets, terracotta tiled roofs and richly textured brick and stone. Inside, triple domed leadlight ceilings crown the former ballroom, adorned with sun and floral motifs emblematic of the Arts and Crafts movement. Carved timber gargoyles frame the Scottish oak fireplace, stained glass windows scatter colour across polished floors, and copper crests and pressed metal friezes celebrate craftsmanship of the highest order.
During its transformation into an educational institution under The Grail, a Tudor style assembly hall was added, its hammerbeam roof and stained glass windows framing panoramic river views. Today, contemporary additions including classrooms, a science lab, art studio, atrium and learning lounge sit seamlessly within the historic fabric, supporting Strathcona’s innovative Year 9 Envision program.
Surrounded by layered gardens, lawns, pergolas and rare Yarra River wharf access, Tay Creggan is more than a house. It is a landmark of architecture, landscape and women’s empowerment, a place where heritage and future coexist with elegance and purpose.
What we love…
Triple domed ballroom ceiling with intricate sun and floral leadlight motifs
Scottish oak fireplace framed by carved timber gargoyle heads
Tudor style assembly hall with dramatic hammerbeam roof and river views
Original servant bells, cellar passage remnants and hidden access points
Established gardens, pergolas and rare Yarra River wharf, kayaking and rowing access
Seamless integration of heritage architecture with contemporary Year 9 learning spaces
