George Harry DeVall

George Harry Devall (1869–1956) was a British architect, who worked in Birmingham in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, contributing much to the streetscape of the city. He was a contemporary of J. L. Ball, William Bidlake, Herbert Tudor Buckland, W. A. Harvey, and William Haywood, all of whom lived in Edgbaston and had architect practices in the city.

Biography

George Harry Devall (sometimes DuVall or DeVall) (1869–1956) practised from 1895 until he retired to Wales in 1934. Devall was a prolific architect who made a significant contribution to the quality of the built environment in Edgbaston, Harborne, Rotton Park and Winson Green areas of Birmingham.

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,1891 Census and in 1891 (when George was 12) the family was living in Dudley Road, Birmingham . 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.Kelly's Directory of Birmingham, 1895 In 1906 Devall was elected an associate member of the Birmingham Architectural Association.The Birmingham Architectural Association Annual Reports (Green Book) 1904 – 1925 The association, which was affiliated to the Royal Institute of British Architects, 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,The Birmingham Architectural Association Annual Report (Green Book) 1921 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. Evidence of his productive career can be seen in his list of works, which lists the planning applications submitted to Birmingham City Council by him between 1895 and 1912. After 1911 his attentions appear to have switched from private dwelling houses and focused more on the commercial, as many of the planning applications subsequent to 1911 relate to motor houses, shops, manufactories and alterations.Birmingham City Building Registers 1911-1920

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 of demolition.

Devall retired to Wales in 1934 and died in Porthcawl in 1956. He is buried at St John the Baptist Church, Porthcawl.

Built works

This list is compiled from research at the Birmingham City Council Archive,Birmingham City Council Archive showing the date of the application and the planning application reference number (images referenced in this article in bold): DateRef.Details25‑Apr‑189510919House at Gillott Road, Edgbaston22‑Dec‑1896124864 houses at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston15‑Dec‑1896124632 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston19‑Jan‑1897125314 houses at City Road, Edgbaston07‑May‑189712935House(s) at City Road, Edgbaston31‑Jul‑1897131575 houses at Portland Road, Edgbaston – near to York Road21‑Sep‑1897132762 houses at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston21‑Sep‑1897132762 houses on the corner of Rotton Park Road and City Road, Edgbaston27‑Sep‑1897132944 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston29‑Jan‑189813596Sloe Lane24‑Feb‑189813671232 & 234 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston19‑Mar‑1898137516 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston19‑Mar‑189813752Shops at St Mary Street07‑May‑18981392540 houses at Edgbaston Road, Cromer Road and Tudor Street, Winson Green19‑Mar‑189813967Houses at City Road, Edgbaston23‑Jun‑18981405631 houses at Constance Road and Edward Road25‑Oct‑1898141191 house at Melville Road, Edgbaston18‑Jun‑1898141656 houses at City Road, Edgbaston20‑Aug‑1898141736 houses at Rotton Park Road and Gillott Road, Edgbaston21‑Sep‑1898142541 house at Lordswood Road, Harborne22‑Sep‑1898143424 houses at Carlisle Street, Winson Green05‑Nov‑1898143809 houses at James Turner Street, Winson Green07‑Jan‑18991449410 houses at City Road, Edgbaston07‑Jan‑1899144951 house at 266 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston15‑Feb‑1899145981 house at Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston for Ada Devall28‑Apr‑1899148002 houses at 32 and 34 Melville Road, Edgbaston01‑May‑1899148051 house at 62 Portland Road, Edgbaston for Mr (later Cllr Walthall15‑Jun‑1899149212 houses at 154/156 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston23‑Aug‑1899150671 house at Hagley Road, Edgbaston for Ebeneezer J. Bradley (D)18‑Oct‑1899151844 houses at Franklin Street and Wellington Street, Winson Green04‑Nov‑1899152301 house at 334 Hagley Road, Edgbaston for his brother-in-law, Thomas Sanders (D)21‑Nov‑18991526710 houses at Gillott Road and proposed new road, Edgbaston05‑Dec‑1899152988 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston27‑Jul‑1900157385 houses at Beaconsfield Road04‑Sep‑1900158021 house at the corner of City Road and Selwyn Road09‑Jan‑1900153697 houses at Gillott Road and Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston30‑Oct‑19001589413 houses at Norman Street09‑Jan‑190015369Houses at Rotton Park Road and Gillott Road, Edgbaston11‑Jul‑1900157182 houses at 245/247 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston for Mrs Podmore09‑Jan‑19011599837 houses at John Turner Street, Eva Road and Perrott Street, Winson Green12‑Jan‑19011600237 houses at Edward Road, Eva Road, Perrott Street and John Turner Street22‑Jan‑190116335House called “Somerset Grange” at 26 Somerset Road, Edgbaston for Walter Smith Bradley25‑Jan‑1901166841 house at 152 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston for Mr G H Devall18‑Mar‑1901167722 houses at “Woodcote” 369 Hagley Road, Edgbaston for Mr John Bradley (D)11‑Jul‑1901169955 houses at Winson Street and Tudor Street, Winson Green14‑Aug‑1901170014 houses at Bankes Road, Winson Green04‑Oct‑1901170724 houses at Crabtree Road, Winson Green08‑Oct‑1901170798 houses at Beeton Road, Winson Green20‑Dec‑19011720079 houses at Hartledon Road and 49 houses at Victoria Road and 30 houses at War Lane26‑Jan‑190317243Brewery02‑Apr‑1903173821 house at Cromer Road09‑Jun‑1903175021 house at 336 Hagley Road, Edgbaston for Mr Samuel White01‑Jul‑1903175671 house at Mansell Road, Winson Green29‑Dec‑19031780515 houses at Tudor Street, Winson Green26‑Jan‑190417841Stabling at Victoria Road19‑Mar‑1905185392 houses at Raglan Road, Winson Green19‑Mar‑19051854571 houses at Rotton Park Road19‑Mar‑19051857723 houses and 1 shop at War Lane, Harborne08‑Feb‑1906190086 houses at Gillott Road, Edgbaston09‑Jan‑190619013Manufactory at Hampton Street05‑Jul‑1906192792 houses at 8/10 Fountain Road, Edgbaston for W. Reed07‑Jul‑19061928810 houses at War Lane, Harborne11‑May‑19071974314 houses at Selwyn Road, Edgbaston19‑Jul‑1907198543 houses at 36/38 Clarendon Road and 2 Vernon Road, Edgbaston20‑Sep‑1907199272 houses at 18 and 20 Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston28‑Dec‑1907200611 house at 22 Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston for Mr L. Turner.22‑Feb‑1908201333 houses at Montague Road, Edgbaston14‑Apr‑1908201951 house at 160 Portland Road, Edgbaston for Mr C. J. Hoare11‑Apr‑1908202103 houses at 119–123 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston02‑May‑1908202428 houses at Grove Street01‑Jul‑1908203388 houses at 119–133 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston (replacing 20210)28‑Sep‑1908204781 house at 435 Hagley Road, Edgbaston called “Mandalay” for Mr William S. Sheldon27‑Mar‑1909207761 house at Lee Bank Road, Edgbaston10‑Mar‑1910213438 houses at Don Street22‑Jul‑1910216303 cottages at Metchley Lane, Harborne next to Sportsman P.H. for Mr S. Allen27‑Aug‑1910216773 houses at 21–25 Metchley Lane, Harborne resubmitted as above (No. 25 demolished)17‑Oct‑1911235741 house on the corner of Rotton Park Road and Selwyn Road, Edgbaston

George Harry DeVall

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