Ross Bay Villa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ross Bay Villa
Ross Bay Villa, south façade
Type	Historic House Museum
Location	1490 Fairfield Road Victoria, British Columbia V8S 1E8
Built	1865
Architect	John Wright, likely
Architectural style(s)	Gothic Revival
Owner	Ross Bay Villa Society

The Ross Bay Villa is a special old house in Victoria, British Columbia. It's like a museum where you can learn about history! The Ross Bay Villa Society takes care of it. This house was built way back in 1865. It's so old and important that the City of Victoria has made it a 'Heritage Designated' building. It's one of only about 10 homes in Victoria that are still standing from before 1870.

When it was first built, the house was on a big piece of land, almost two acres. This land belonged to Charles Buxton, a kind English politician. The house was about five kilometers from the growing town of Victoria. It was outside the town and only had a dirt path leading to its closest neighbors. The area around the house was mostly wild bushes, farms, and swamps. The first people to live there were Francis James Roscoe and his wife, Anna Letitia Roscoe.

The house was probably designed by John Wright. He was the only full-time professional architect in Victoria at that time. People say Wright was the "founding father" of architecture in British Columbia. The Villa, which got its name later in 1882–83, was built in the popular Gothic Revival architecture style. John Wright was an expert in this style.

What Makes the Villa Special?

The Ross Bay Villa has many cool features from the Gothic Revival style. These include the front porch with its fancy turned columns. It also has a special three-leaf shape called a "trefoil" in the roof above the porch. You can also see decorative pointy tops called "finials" on the four peaks of the roof. The windows on the outside have cool angled details called "chamfered" edges.

Inside the Historic House

From the outside, the house looks small. But it's actually quite big inside, about 1,650 square feet, all on one floor! The main rooms have very tall ceilings, about 12 feet high. The kitchen at the back is much smaller and cozier.

Other interesting parts of the house include a special chimney with two flues. There's also an angled front bay window with a sloped roof. The front porch has side windows and a window above the door, and the original front door itself. These were all painted to look like oak wood. The roof is unusual because it has two ridges. The windows have six small panes of glass on the top and six on the bottom. Inside, you can see an original cast-iron fireplace, a mantelpiece that looks like marble, and a fancy plaster design on the ceiling.

The Villa's Journey Through Time

In 1869, Sir James Douglas (governor), who used to be the Governor of British Columbia, wrote about the house. He described it as "a pretty cottage, half-buried in roses and honeysuckle." Over the years, many different families lived in the house. Several large families grew up there.

In 1912, the big piece of land was divided into 14 smaller lots. The house was on two of these lots, so it kept both. By the late 1980s, the house needed a lot of repairs. In 1988, it was bought by people who wanted to build new things there. The house kept getting worse and became an "eyesore," meaning it looked very bad.

In 1992, the owners agreed to have the house listed on the Victoria City Heritage Register. This meant it was recognized as an important historical building. However, the plans to build new things didn't work out. In 1998, developers wanted to tear down the house and build townhouses instead. People who cared about history encouraged The Land Conservancy of British Columbia to buy the property. They wanted to save it and restore it as a historical treasure.

Today, the house and its garden are a Historic house museum. The Ross Bay Villa Society runs it. You can take tours to see what life was like long ago. You can also rent the house and garden for special events like weddings. One room in the house is even the office for the Old Cemeteries Society.

Who Lived Here?

The Ross Bay Villa has been home to several important people.

Francis James Roscoe (1830–78) and his wife, Anna Letitia Le Breton, raised five children in the house. Francis Roscoe passed away in 1878. He was the grandson of a famous reformer and politician from England named William Roscoe. Francis Roscoe came to Victoria in 1862 and started a hardware business. His store sold supplies to miners going to the Cariboo Gold Rush and to the people in the growing town. Roscoe also became involved in politics. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Victoria from 1874 to 1878.

After Mr. Roscoe passed away, Mrs. Roscoe and her five children moved back to England. The house was then rented to George Winter. He was a coachman for the colonial governor. Winter bought the property in 1889. He then rented it to Harvey and Margaret Combe. Harvey Combe helped start the Victoria Golf Club in 1893. This is Canada's oldest golf club! There's an old photo of the Combe family in front of the Villa, which is the earliest known picture of the house. The Winter family lived in the house from 1892 to 1911. Later, a stonemason named John Mortimer lived there. He started Mortimer's Monumental Works. Many of the monuments in the Ross Bay Cemetery, which is across the street, were made by him.

Bringing the Villa Back to Life

On January 2, 2000, volunteers started working to clean up and restore the Villa. They cleared out the house and yard and made sure the building was safe. With help from donations and grants, they put on a new roof. They also installed new electrical, plumbing, alarm, and fire safety systems. Volunteers replaced all the old, rotting foundation posts. They also put in insulation and heating under the floor for the first time ever.

Inside the house, experts looked at tiny pieces of every wallpaper. They found more than 100 different patterns! The original wallpapers in the dining room and drawing room were copied using old-fashioned printing machines. Other wallpapers will be made when there is enough money and time. The original paint colors on all the wood were matched perfectly. Special paper that looked like wood panels was made by hand for the entry hall. The floor coverings were also carefully copied by hand.

When Mrs. Roscoe left the house, she sold everything inside at an auction. A list from that 1879 auction has helped guide volunteers in finding furniture and items that would have been in the house back then. The dining room, drawing room, kitchen, and entry hall are now almost complete. They have furniture, books, dishes, pictures, and oil lamps from the 1860s and 1870s.

The Beautiful Garden

Most of the details about the original garden have been lost over the past 150 years. However, there was evidence of a round flower bed in front of the porch. Several very old fruit trees have survived, though none are as old as the house itself.

The plan for the garden is to plant only trees, bushes, and flowers that would have been common in the 1860s and 1870s. This includes a vegetable garden, based on old plant catalogs from that time. Early types of roses and honeysuckle are being trained to grow up the house, just like Sir James Douglas described. A special flowering ginger plant, called Roscoea purpurea, is very important. It's named after Roscoe's grandfather, William Roscoe!

The Ross Bay Villa Society

The Ross Bay Villa Society was officially formed on January 17, 2013. It is a registered charity. Its main goal is to protect, research, and promote the Ross Bay Villa. When The Land Conservancy faced money problems, the Ross Bay Villa Society started raising money to buy the property. They successfully bought it in October 2015. The year 2015 was also a big celebration for the Villa's 150th Birthday, with special events and tours all year long.

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