House, 17 Devon Road

Statement of Significance

• This place has aesthetic value as a well-executed and intact example of the Federation style built for a professional family.
• The place has historic value for its association with the development of this area of Bassendean in the early 20th century.
• This place has social value as a demonstration of the form and scale of housing in the early 1900s for a professional family

Physical Description

Single storey brick and iron house of asymmetric plan form with a projecting section to western side of the façade. The house has a tuck pointed brick dado and rendered brickwork above. The windows are timber framed sash openings with painted concrete sills with decorative render below. The roof is a steeply pitched Dutch gabled form with timbered gable detail to the street facing elevation. A further gable presenting with the same timber detail is incorporated into the projecting wing. A separate bullnose verandah wraps around the north and east elevations, supported on timber posts with a timber frieze and timber deck.

History

In 1897, land speculator, parliamentarian and government assayer, Henry Anstey purchased a large parcel designated as Location Q which he subdivided and offered for sale under the name 'Bindaring Estate'. Devon Road was part of this estate and the name owes its origin to the county in England. From the available information this house was built for owner and occupier, Herbert Walter Jones (c1878-1951) and his wife Annie May Jones, née Watson (c1890-1930). The couple married in 1903 and raised their family of four children at the house. Annie died in 1930, aged 40 and Herbert, a civil servant and Grand
Secretary of the UAD Druids, and lived on at the house until his death in 1951.
Aerial photographs indicate that the property which extends to Harcourt Street at the rear has undergone additions since the mid-20th century. Several structures, including a swimming pool, have been built in the rear of the lot but it has remained substantially an informal garden landscape. The house underwent major additions to at the rear in the late 1990s and the roof form changed to accommodate this addition and reclad with zincalume in the same period.

Integrity/Authenticity

High
Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.