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, circa 1895

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,^[1] 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.^[2]

334-336 Hagley Road, Edgbaston

In 1906 Devall was elected an associate member of the Birmingham Architectural Association.^[3] 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,^[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.

334 Hagley Road, Edgbaston

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.^[5]

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.

Somerset Grange, Edgbaston

152 Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston (Devall's own home)

22 Wheatsheaf Road, Edgbaston

532 City Road, Edgbaston

2 Vernon Road, Edgbaston

36 Clarendon Road, Edgbaston

Built works

This list is compiled from research at the Birmingham City Council Archive,^[6] showing the date of the application and the planning application reference number (images referenced in this article in bold):

See also

• Architecture of Birmingham

References

Further reading

• Andy Foster, Pevsner Architectural Guides. The Buildings of England: Birmingham & The Black Country, ISBN 978-0-300-22391-0, Pages: 394, 456, 584;
• The Victorian Society(pamphlet on G. H. Devall, published in 2006);
• The Birmingham & Midland Institute Archive - Victorian architects; Section D.

External links

• Grave of George Harry Devall