2587 Graham Street

ARCHITECTURE:

This house and 2583 to the south were built by small developers on two halves of one lot close to the end of the pre-WWI boom. The two similar houses on one lot to the south, 2575 and 2579, were built by another small developer, William McGregor. 2587 and 2583 Graham are both one-storey vernacular Edwardian bungalows, but while 2583 is front-gabled, 2587 is hip-roofed with a hip-roofed dormer on the front slope. Both the roof and the dormer have exposed rafter tails. As the attic was not used, the window of the dormer was for ventilation, and for eventual use of the attic as extra living space if a family grew larger. This was a regular feature of many houses at the time, but in this case, the attic has never been developed as living space.

The house is a long rectangle, with a shed-roofed addition on part of the rear and a large cantilevered box bay on the left side. The front entry hall was originally part of the open porch. The inset corner entry porch has been shortened to its present size. This is evidenced by a break in the water table at the left side of the porch. The stairs are front facing. A wide belt course surrounds the house except for the rear addition. The six-foot-high basement has its pre-WWI coarse rubble concrete foundation. As with many small older homes, there was no room for an inside stairway to the basement, so it is accessed by an exterior door at the rear. The six-light windows on the basement are original. The house is shingled.

The interior still has many original features, such as picture rails, kitchen cabinets and pantry, and basic angled Arts & Crafts wooden lintels on the doors and windows.

The builders of this small working-class home were Smith & Adams. They had an office in #221 Sayward Building, 1207 Douglas St, where William S.D. Smith ran a real estate firm.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

The house had many different owners and tenants during its first 30 years.
1914-15: Archibald Rankin, owner, was a baker at Perfection Bakery, 2629 Prior St.
1917: Alexander Innes, a salesman.
1918: Arthur J. Tapley, a labourer.

1920: Vernon Scott Mortimer (b. Toronto 1887) and Regina Victoria “Rena” (née Wall, b. Victoria 1897) married in Victoria in May 1915, six months after Vernon signed his Attestation Papers in Victoria for WWI. At the time, he was a rancher in Vernon, but by 1920 he was working for Harbour Marine Co in Victoria.

1921: grocer George N. Bayley.

1923: Teamster and chauffeur Ernest Bentley (b. Manchester, ENG, 1891-1977) married Ida May (née Richardson, b. Scarborough, ENG, 1891-1974) in August 1914. A year later, Ernest volunteered for the CEF in WWI. When he returned to Victoria, he became a salesman for Spencer’s Department Store.

1924: Fearon Woodburn (b.Nanaimo 1891-1974) and Mabel Olive (née Brewster, b. Victoria 1893-1964). Fearon’s father, coalminer Samuel Woodburn, was killed in Nanaimo by a fall of coal before Fearon was two; his mother Jane married another coalminer in 1895. When Fearon signed up for WWI in 1915, he was a chauffeur for the Victoria Fire Department. By 1924 he was a policeman, and went on to become a detective with Victoria City Police.

1926: Edward Lockley Chester and Margaret Alice Madge (née Hoffner) were both born in England and married in 1924 in Victoria; Edward was a teamster.
1927: Beatrice Robinson, the widow of W.H.M. Robinson.
1928-32: John Moody (b. Dunster, ENG 1900) and Jenny Owen (née Jones, b. Holyhead, ENG 1902) were married at Centennial United Church (612 David St, Burnside) in June 1928. John, a machinist with Cameron Lumber Co, was already living in this house at the time.

1933-35: Wilfred Henry Sturrock (b. Port Townsend, WA 1910-1980) and Margaret Gertrude (née Brockington, b. Victoria 1909-1988); Wilfred worked in ommunications with BC Telephone Co.

1937-38: Victor Howard Midgley (b. Vancouver, 1914-1962) and Freda Evelyn (née Foot). Victor was a lather, but for his last 15 years was the International Representation for the Carpenters Union.

1939- 41: Raymond Archibald Hunt (b. Walsall, ENG 1905- 1960) and Mona Marion (née Dobbie, b. Merritt, BC, c.1913); Ray was a window dresser at General Warehouse Ltd, one of the Spencer companies at 1110 Government St. He later became the proprietor of a sign company.

1942: HMC Dockyard clerk Percy Irving Hope (b. SCT 1888-1950) and Emily (née Holdway, b. Guildford, Surrey, ENG 1888-1989). Percy worked at the Dockyard during WWII, and retired to Saanich after the war.

1943-c.1960: John and Rose McGregor; John was a helper at Yarrow shipyard during WWII, and later worked as a labourer for the City.