By Cathy Jones
Strathfield Council approved an application by Charles (C.C.) Capper to build a brick house in Abbotsford Road in August 1911 for estimated cost of £1,450.00. Capper was the Mayor of Strathfield Council in 1911 and 1912.
By 1924, ownership of the house transferred to John Johns, a bootmaker with city premises which traded as Thomas Johns at 75 Pitt Street Sydney. Johns had previously lived at 53 Abbotsford Road Homebush. Johns named the house ‘Glenmavis’, which was the previous name of 53 Abbotsford Road.
The Johns family specialised in making orthopaedic footwear and the business operated for three generations. The Johns family (including relatives living in Burlington Road Homebush) were prominent in Homebush and appear to have been devout parishioners of the Homebush Methodist Church. There are a number of references to the Johns family in the interior of this Church such as inscriptions, stained glass windows and tablets.
References
Department Valuer General, Valuation Lists, Municipality of Strathfield
Fox & Associates, Strathfield Heritage Study, 1986
Sands Sydney and Suburban Directory – Strathfield Council
Strathfield Council Building Register
Strathfield Council Notice of Land Transfers
Strathfield Council Valuation Lists
Wise Post Office Directory
Strathfield Heritage 