ARCHITECTURE:
This 1½-storey cross-gabled California Bungalow has low-pitched rooflines, a gabled extension to the rear and a gabled full-width verandah across the front. Rustic granite piers support the front verandah roof as well as the porte-cochère on the left [south] side, which has a balcony above. The chimneys are also granite. The lower walls are clad in double-bevelled siding, with shingle above. Most windows are grouped multi-over-single panes. There are some art glass windows on the south side. The eaves are supported with massive stacked and bevelled timber brackets and the bargeboards have a row of square bevelled bosses. The front porch, as well as its impressive granite stonework, has a timber-braced gable. The wide central entrance door has brass strap hinges and a matching latch with fleur de lis finials. The original stable at the rear is side-gabled with a small dormer over the double pair of panelled doors on the left. The walls are shingled and the gables match the house with full decorative treatment. The garden plan remains intact with a lower terrace to the south and a trellis fence separating the front garden from the rear. There is a granite wall with wrought iron gates at the front.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
1914-15: William Arthur Irish (b. Camden E, ON 1872-1941) designed and built this house for $14,000, according to AB&E, July 10, 1914. He sold it after his wife Florence Blanche (née Elliott, b. Drayton, ON 1882-1915) died nine months after moving from Winnipeg. William returned to Winnipeg and married Mary Edith (née Fares, b. Emerson, MB 1889-1980) in 1922.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
1917-18: Hon. Robert Brent Mosher, US Consul (b. Washington, DC, 1856-1927) came here in 1915 as successor to the late Abraham E. Smith (610 Avalon Rd), serving nine years in the US Consulate, (Belmont Bldg, #108-805 Government St, Downtown) before retiring in 1924.He worked in many bureaucratic positions, and from 1905 served as US Consul in South Africa, China and Germany. He contributed articles to Encyclopedia Americana and was editor of USA Executive Register. He died in Washington; his wife Jennie “Jane” Douglas (née Shank, b. MI, USA 1865–1944) died here.
1923-30: George Dickson Bouton (b. Ohio, USA 1859-1930) studied law, then became mng dir of American Finance & Securities Co of NY & Philadelphia. He moved here in 1920 and ran Cowichan Valley logging operations. He was president of Empire Lumber Co with interests in mining ventures in Mexico, southern US, and Oregon.His adopted daughter, Minnie Griffiths Moore, widow of Harry A. Moore, lived with him here. She was proprietor of Richmond Court (1016 Pemberton Rd) in 1929-30, then lived there until her death in 1946. Her daughter Ruth married Lt-Cmdr John Hamilton Stubbs, DSO, DSC, RCN who went down with his ship, HMCS Athabaskan, sunk in the English Channel in 1944 during WWII. John Stubbs School in Belmont Park, Colwood, BC is named in his honour.
1935-38: Dancer, teacher, choreographer Florence Edith Clough (b. Victoria 1908-2008), for many years proprietor of Florence Dance Academy. She lived with her husband William “Ernest” Drummond at 1134 Dallas Rd.
1939-41: Life insurance agent Walter Tree-Keeble (b. Lambeth, London, ENG 1876-1967) and Margaret (née Rheilbach, b. Cologne, GER 1888-1975) lived in Mexico before retiring here in 1938.
1942-45: Dr. George Arthur Benjamin Hall (b. Ottawa, ON 1868-1948) and Charlotte Annable (1892-1970). His first wife was Christina Elizabeth (née Poole, b. Quesnel, BC 1871-1936).
1946-70: Accountant James Leslie Bell (b. Chester, ENG 1885-1970) and Agnes Oriane (née Porritt, b. Victoria 1895-1982) retired here.
Mid-late-1970s: Barrister and solicitor Michael Dalway Watson Young (b. Glasgow, SCT 1934-2010) and Barbara Claire “Penny” (née Courtney, b. Victoria). He came to Canada in 1948. While he was Mayor of Victoria 1975-79, City Council adopted the first Heritage Registry. In 1978, the funding assistance program for restoration and maintenance work on designated heritage houses began. [In 1983 the City established Victoria Heritage Foundation (VHF) to administer its funding program].