George Harry Devall ( )

Transcription

1 George Harry Devall ( ) George Harry Devall ( ) practised from 1895 until he retired to Wales in Mr Devall was quite prolific in the area we know today as north Edgbaston (which is essentially that part of Edgbaston north of the Hagley Road). George Devall was born in Birmingham in 1869, the eldest son of George and Phoebe Devall who originally came from Dudley, Worcestershire. His father was a Pawnbroker 2 and in 1891 (when George was 12) the family was living in Dudley Road, Birmingham 2. The area that George grew up in would be a stone s throw from the area where he would ultimately make his living. In the 1891 Census he is shown as an Architect s Clerk, living with his father in Heath Street, Birmingham and by 1895 he is listed for the first time in Kelly s Directory of Birmingham as an Architect and Surveyor. In 1906 G. H. Devall was elected an Associate member of The Birmingham Architectural Association 3. The Association, which was was affiliated to the RIBA, was founded in 1873 to promote the union and professional integrity of architects and for the general advancement of architecture in Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. In 1921, at the age of 62, Devall became a Fellow of the Association and remained so until when he retired from the Association. A large number of properties were built by him during his professional life, many of which are large detached and semi-detached villa residences for the Victorian and Edwardian middle-classes. However, he also designed a number of attractive terraced houses in Winson Green, Edgbaston and Harborne, most notably War Lane, Hartledon Road and Victoria Road in Harborne, all of which are still extant. In these latter three roads, he uses highly decorative terracotta to include columns, corinthian capitals, pediments and cartouches (see Figs. 13 and 14). Evidence of his productive career can be seen in Appendix A which lists the Planning Applications submitted by him from 1895 to After 1911 his attentions appear to have switched from Private Dwelling Houses and focussed more on the commercial, as many of the Planning Applications subsequent to 1911 relate to Motor Houses, Shops, Manufactories and alterations from his Great Niece, Louise McCrea Census 3 The Birmingham Architectural Association Annual Reports (Green Book) The Birmingham Architectural Association Annual Report (Green Book) Birmingham City Building Registers Page 1 of 9

2 Much of his work of the larger villa style is concentrated in the Edgbaston roads of Melville Road, Clarendon Road, Montague Road, Gillott Road, Rotton Park Road and City Road (the latter two being notable for the large number of houses he designed there). His own house, where he lived from 1901 to 1934 at 152 Rotton Park Road also survives and is a very attractive Edwardian detached villa. He also designed houses on individual plots in Edgbaston on Hagley Road, Lordswood Road, Portland Road and Somerset Road, many of which are still extant, but some, despite being in Conservation Areas, are at risk (See Figs 10-12). A small sample of his other work is found in the photographs contained in Appendix B. Stephen Hartland 27 th February 2006 Page 2 of 9

3 APPENDIX A Planning Applications Lodged by George H. Devall Items marked red are shown in the photographs in Appendix B Date Plan Description 25-Apr Dec Dec Jan May Jul Sep Sep Sep House at Gillott Road, Edgbaston houses at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston houses at City Road, Edgbaston house(s) at City Road, Edgbaston houses at Portland Road, Edgbaston - near to York Road houses at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston houses on the corner of Rotton Park Road and City Road, Edgbaston houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston 29 Jan Sloe Lane 24-Feb & 234 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston 19-Mar houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston 19-Mar Shops at St Mary Street 7-May houses at Edgbaston Road, Cromer Road and Tudor Street, Winson Green 19-Mar Houses at City Road, Edgbaston 23-Jun houses at Constance Road and Edward Road 25-Oct house at Melville Road, Edgbaston 18-Jun houses at City Road, Edgbaston 20-Aug houses at Rotton Park Road and Gillott Road, Edgbaston 21-Sep house at Lordswood Road, Harborne 22-Sep houses at Carlisle Street, Winson Green 5-Nov houses at James Turner Street, Winson Green 7-Jan Jan Feb Apr May Jun Aug Oct Nov Nov Dec Jul Sep Jan Oct Jan Jul houses at City Road, Edgbaston house at 266 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston house at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston for Ada Devall houses at 32 and 34 Melville Road, Edgbaston house at 62 Portland Road, Edgbaston for Mr (later Cllr) Walthall houses at 154/156 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston house at Hagley Road, Edgbaston for Ebeneezer J. Bradley (D) houses at Franklin Street and Wellington Street, Winson Green House at 334 Hagley Road, Edgbaston for his brother-in-law, Thomas Sanders houses at Gillott Road and proposed new road, Edgbaston houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston houses at Beaconsfield Road house at the corner of City Road annd Selwyn Road houses at Gillott Road and Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston houses at Norman Street Houses at Rotton Park Road and Gillott Road, Edgbaston houses at 245/247 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston for Mrs Podmore 9-Jan houses at John Turner Street, Eva Road and Perrott Street, Winson Green 12-Jan houses at Edward Road, Eva Road, Perrott Street and John Turner Street 22-Jan House called Somerset Grange at 26 Somerset Road, Edgbaston for Walter Smith Bradley Page 3 of 9

4 Date Plan Description 25-Jan house at 152 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston for Mr G H Devall 18-Mar houses at Woodcote 369 Hagley Road, Edgbaston for Mr John Bradley (D) 11-Jul houses at Winson Street and Tudor Street, Winson Green 14-Aug houses at Bankes Road, Winson Green 4-Oct houses at Crabtree Road, Winson Green 8-Oct houses at Beeton Road, Winson Green 20-Dec houses at Hartledon Road and 49 houses at Victoria Road and 30 houses at War Lane 26-Jan Apr Jun Jul Dec Jan Mar Mar Mar Feb Feb Jan Jul Jul May Jul Sep Dec Brewery house at Cromer Road house at 336 Hagley Road, Edgbaston for Mr Samuel White house at Mansell Road, Winson Green houses at Tudor Street, Winson Green Stabling at Victoria Road houses at Raglan Road, Winson Green houses at Rotton Park Road houses and 1 shop at War Lane, Harborne houses at City Road, Edgbaston houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston Manufactory at Hampton Street houses at 8/10 Fountain Road, Edgbaston for W. Reed houses at War Lane, Harborne houses at Selwyn Road, Edgbaston houses at 36/38 Clarendon Road and 2 Vernon Road, Edgbaston houses at 18 and 20 Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston house at 22 Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston for Mr L. Turner. 22-Feb houses at Montague Road, Edgbaston 14-Apr house at 160 Portland Road, Edgbaston for Mr C. J. Hoare 11-Apr houses at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston 2-May houses at Grove Street 1-Jul houses at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston (replacing 20210) 28-Sep house at 435 Hagley Road, Edgbaston called Mandalay for Mr William S. Sheldon 27-Mar house at Lee Bank Road, Edgbaston 10-Mar houses at Don Street 22-Jul cottages at Metchley Lane, Harborne next to Sportsman P.H. for Mr S. Allen 27-Aug houses at Metchley Lane, Harborne resubmitted as above (No. 25 demolished) 17-Oct house on the corner of Rotton Park Road and Selwyn Road, Edgbaston Applications highlighted in red are featured as photographs on subsequent pages (D) = Demolished Page 4 of 9

5 APPENDIX B Fig Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston Fig Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston built 1901 (St Augustine s Conservation Area) George Devall s home from 1901 to 1934 Fig City Road, Edgbaston Fig Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston built 1908 Page 5 of 9

6 Fig. 5 36/38 Clarendon Road, Edgbaston built 1908 Fig. 6 Front elevation of 2 Vernon Road, Edgbaston built 1908 Page 6 of 9

7 Fig Portland Road, Edgbaston built 1900 Fig. 8 Cottage at 21 Metchley Lane, Harborne (St Augustine s Conservation Area) built 1911 Fig. 9 Somerset Grange 26 Somerset Road, Edgbaston built 1901 (Edgbaston Conservation Area) Page 7 of 9

8 Fig Hagley Road, Edgbaston built 1904 (Barnsley Road Conservation Area) Fig Hagley Road, Edgbaston built 1900 (Barnsley Road Conservation Area) Page 8 of 9

9 Fig. 12 Mandalay 435 Hagley Road built 1909 (Barnsley Road Conservation Area) Fig Victoria Road, Harborne built 1902 Fig Hartledon Road. Harborne built 1903 Page 9 of 9