George Harry Devall (1869-1956) George Harry Devall (1869-1956) practised from 1895 until he retired to Wales in 1934 1. 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 1925 4 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 1912. 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 5. 1 E-mail from his Great Niece, Louise McCrea 2006 2 1891 Census 3 The Birmingham Architectural Association Annual Reports (Green Book) 1904 1925 4 The Birmingham Architectural Association Annual Report (Green Book) 1921 5 Birmingham City Building Registers 1911-1920 Page 1 of 9
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
APPENDIX A Planning Applications Lodged by George H. Devall 1895-1911 Items marked red are shown in the photographs in Appendix B Date Plan Description 25-Apr-1895 22-Dec-1896 15-Dec-1896 19-Jan-1897 7-May-1897 31-Jul-1897 21-Sep-1897 21-Sep-1897 27-Sep-1897 10919 House at Gillott Road, Edgbaston 12486 4 houses at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston 12463 2 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston 12531 4 houses at City Road, Edgbaston 12935 house(s) at City Road, Edgbaston 13157 5 houses at Portland Road, Edgbaston - near to York Road 13276 2 houses at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston 13276 2 houses on the corner of Rotton Park Road and City Road, Edgbaston 13294 4 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston 29 Jan 1898 13596 Sloe Lane 24-Feb-1898 13671 232 & 234 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston 19-Mar-1898 13751 6 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston 19-Mar-1898 13752 Shops at St Mary Street 7-May-1898 13925 40 houses at Edgbaston Road, Cromer Road and Tudor Street, Winson Green 19-Mar-1898 13967 Houses at City Road, Edgbaston 23-Jun-1898 14056 31 houses at Constance Road and Edward Road 25-Oct-1898 14119 1 house at Melville Road, Edgbaston 18-Jun-1898 14165 6 houses at City Road, Edgbaston 20-Aug-1898 14173 6 houses at Rotton Park Road and Gillott Road, Edgbaston 21-Sep-1898 14254 1 house at Lordswood Road, Harborne 22-Sep-1898 14342 4 houses at Carlisle Street, Winson Green 5-Nov-1898 14380 9 houses at James Turner Street, Winson Green 7-Jan-1899 7-Jan-1899 15-Feb-1899 28-Apr-1899 1-May-1899 15-Jun-1899 23-Aug-1899 18-Oct-1899 4-Nov-1899 21-Nov-1899 5-Dec-1899 27-Jul-1900 4-Sep-1900 9-Jan-1900 30-Oct-1900 9-Jan-1900 11-Jul-1900 14494 10 houses at City Road, Edgbaston 14495 1 house at 266 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston 14598 1 house at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston for Ada Devall 14800 2 houses at 32 and 34 Melville Road, Edgbaston 14805 1 house at 62 Portland Road, Edgbaston for Mr (later Cllr) Walthall 14921 2 houses at 154/156 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston 15067 1 house at Hagley Road, Edgbaston for Ebeneezer J. Bradley (D) 15184 4 houses at Franklin Street and Wellington Street, Winson Green 15230 1 House at 334 Hagley Road, Edgbaston for his brother-in-law, Thomas Sanders 15267 10 houses at Gillott Road and proposed new road, Edgbaston 15298 8 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston 15738 5 houses at Beaconsfield Road 15802 1 house at the corner of City Road annd Selwyn Road 15369 7 houses at Gillott Road and Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston 15894 13 houses at Norman Street 15369 Houses at Rotton Park Road and Gillott Road, Edgbaston 15718 2 houses at 245/247 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston for Mrs Podmore 9-Jan-1901 15998 37 houses at John Turner Street, Eva Road and Perrott Street, Winson Green 12-Jan-1901 16002 37 houses at Edward Road, Eva Road, Perrott Street and John Turner Street 22-Jan-1901 16335 House called Somerset Grange at 26 Somerset Road, Edgbaston for Walter Smith Bradley Page 3 of 9
Date Plan Description 25-Jan-1901 16684 1 house at 152 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston for Mr G H Devall 18-Mar-1901 16772 2 houses at Woodcote 369 Hagley Road, Edgbaston for Mr John Bradley (D) 11-Jul-1901 16995 5 houses at Winson Street and Tudor Street, Winson Green 14-Aug-1901 17001 4 houses at Bankes Road, Winson Green 4-Oct-1901 17072 4 houses at Crabtree Road, Winson Green 8-Oct-1901 17079 8 houses at Beeton Road, Winson Green 20-Dec-1901 17200 79 houses at Hartledon Road and 49 houses at Victoria Road and 30 houses at War Lane 26-Jan-1903 2-Apr-1903 9-Jun-1903 1-Jul-1903 29-Dec-1903 26-Jan-1904 19-Mar-1905 19-Mar-1905 19-Mar-1905 8-Feb-1906 8-Feb-1906 9-Jan-1906 5-Jul-1906 7-Jul-1906 11-May-1907 19-Jul-1907 20-Sep-1907 28-Dec-1907 17243 Brewery 17382 1 house at Cromer Road 17502 1 house at 336 Hagley Road, Edgbaston for Mr Samuel White 17567 1 house at Mansell Road, Winson Green 17805 15 houses at Tudor Street, Winson Green 17841 Stabling at Victoria Road 18539 2 houses at Raglan Road, Winson Green 18545 71 houses at Rotton Park Road 18577 23 houses and 1 shop at War Lane, Harborne 19008 6 houses at City Road, Edgbaston 19008 6 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston 19013 Manufactory at Hampton Street 19279 2 houses at 8/10 Fountain Road, Edgbaston for W. Reed 19288 10 houses at War Lane, Harborne 19743 14 houses at Selwyn Road, Edgbaston 19854 3 houses at 36/38 Clarendon Road and 2 Vernon Road, Edgbaston 19927 2 houses at 18 and 20 Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston 20061 1 house at 22 Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston for Mr L. Turner. 22-Feb-1908 20133 3 houses at Montague Road, Edgbaston 14-Apr-1908 20195 1 house at 160 Portland Road, Edgbaston for Mr C. J. Hoare 11-Apr-1908 20210 3 houses at 119-123 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston 2-May-1908 20242 8 houses at Grove Street 1-Jul-1908 20338 8 houses at 119-133 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston (replacing 20210) 28-Sep-1908 20478 1 house at 435 Hagley Road, Edgbaston called Mandalay for Mr William S. Sheldon 27-Mar-1909 20776 1 house at Lee Bank Road, Edgbaston 10-Mar-1910 21343 8 houses at Don Street 22-Jul-1910 21630 3 cottages at Metchley Lane, Harborne next to Sportsman P.H. for Mr S. Allen 27-Aug-1910 21677 3 houses at 21-25 Metchley Lane, Harborne resubmitted as above (No. 25 demolished) 17-Oct-1911 23574 1 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
APPENDIX B Fig. 1 11 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston Fig. 2 152 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston built 1901 (St Augustine s Conservation Area) George Devall s home from 1901 to 1934 Fig. 3 532 City Road, Edgbaston Fig. 4 22 Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston built 1908 Page 5 of 9
Fig. 5 36/38 Clarendon Road, Edgbaston built 1908 Fig. 6 Front elevation of 2 Vernon Road, Edgbaston built 1908 Page 6 of 9
Fig. 7-62 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
Fig. 10 336 Hagley Road, Edgbaston built 1904 (Barnsley Road Conservation Area) Fig. 11 334 Hagley Road, Edgbaston built 1900 (Barnsley Road Conservation Area) Page 8 of 9
Fig. 12 Mandalay 435 Hagley Road built 1909 (Barnsley Road Conservation Area) Fig. 13 54 Victoria Road, Harborne built 1902 Fig. 14 4 Hartledon Road. Harborne built 1903 Page 9 of 9