Rathburn House

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.

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

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