ARCHITECTURE:
This simple 1-storey late 1920s cottage has retained most of its original Craftsman characteristics including the dark-stained cedar shingle cladding. It has a pyramidal hipped roof with small matching front and back dormers and a set-back, hip-roofed extension on one side. There are two tall slender brick chimneys. The eaves are open with exposed rafter tails. Most of the original single-hung windows are in groups of two or three and the smaller multi-paned upper sashes are divided vertically with muntins. The recessed varnished wood front door with full-length glazing is flanked by sidelights, both with matching muntin designs. The concrete porch steps are set between brick piers and a low balustrade topped by a wrought iron railing. Another set of concrete steps and a curved walkway lead from the street to the front entry. The original integral garage in the side wing has been converted to an entry door and windows.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
This house was built for George James (1868-1943) and Rose Lydia (Truelove, 1882-1967) Gates. Born in Sutton, Surrey, England, they came to Victoria in 1911. George was a foreman with the HBC, and was later a night watchman with the police. The Gates had one daughter, Phyllis Irene, who travelled to India in 1935 to marry Joseph E. Cann, also of Victoria. Phyllis lived in India with Joseph until events of WWII forced her to come back to Canada with her two daughters, and she moved back into the house with her parents. Joseph became a first lieutenant in the US Army. He enlisted with the medical team and completed officer training, but was killed in 1944 during the Battle of Peleliu in the Philippines. Rose was still living in the house when she died in 1967, and Phyllis lived in the house into the 1990s. Members of the family still own the house.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:
• This Old House, Victoria’s Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Four: Fairfield, Gonzales & Jubilee
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