Description of Historic Place

The Rathburn house is an imposing two-and-one-half-storey farmhouse with a large verandah and gabled roof, which sits on a prominent corner in East Richmond. Surrounded by agricultural fields in this rural section of Richmond, the house is a visual landmark.

Heritage Value

The Rathburn house is significant as one of the few remaining farmhouses in Richmond that illustrates the typical Richmond farm of the early twentieth century, characterized by a grand farmhouse with an associated barn and an agricultural landscape. The house is representative of a style often described as a 'gable-front' house that was very prevalent in the time leading up to the First World War, a common style of building that speaks to the everyday lives of farmers or the middle class.

Source: City of Richmond Clerk's Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Rathburn House include:
- building elements that contribute to its style and character, including the front-gabled roof with bellcast flare, wraparound verandah on three sides with twinned or triple columns, and an original front door with side lights
- the building's prominent corner location and visual landmark status in an area that has retained its agricultural character
- mature fruit trees in the front and side yards of the house, which speak to its agricultural origins