House, 20 Devon Road

Statement of Significance

• This place has aesthetic value as a well-executed and predominantly 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. • 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 story brick and iron house of asymmetric plan form. The house is of face brick construction with tuckpointing and two rendered bands that correspond with the sill height of the main window and the transom between the main casement and the multi-paned highlight window. The main section of the façade is a gabled wing with timber and roughcast finish to the gable element and projecting brick frame around the window. A stepped verandah wraps around the eastern elevation incorporating a separate bullnose verandah supported on turned timber posts with a concrete deck. The main entry is located in the central section of the façade consisting of timber and glass panelled door, glass and panelled side panels and fanlights above. There are timber framed French doors in the east elevation. The roof is a complex hipped and gabled form reclad in zincalume with rendered corbelled chimney to the rear of the roof. The garden is lawned without any boundary treatment.

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 residence was built c1907 for Charles Thomson Wickham (c1872-1962) and his wife Annie Millicent Wickham, née Parsons (c1885-1972). The couple had married in 1907 and raised their family of three children at the house. Charles Wickham originally worked as a draftsman and was later described in the electoral roles as an engineer. The Wickham's left the property in the early 1930s and a later occupant through the 1930s and 1940s was Robert Leibenow. Aerial photographs indicate that the original building form does not appear to have changed significantly although the current form of the verandah is likely to be a later addition. In early 2009, the roof was reclad with zincalume and the verandah was replaced with the current bull nose style verandah, separate to the main roof. It is likely that the previous roof cladding was asbestos.

Integrity/Authenticity

High Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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