Heritage Register
Fernwood

1272 Walnut Street (ex-31 Walnut St)

Built 1891; 1898-1900
Heritage-Designated 2002 including cabin

For: Joseph & Annie Le Sueur
Builder: Joseph Le Sueur

ARCHITECTURE:

In 1891 Joseph Le Sueur (1861-1949) built the two-room cabin for himself and his wife Minnie on this property. It was a temporary measure, until they were able to build their main house. It is a small, single-storey, side-gabled building with drop siding about two inches wider than that on the main house. The City assessed the cabin at $50 and the property at $350 in 1892. In 1898 the Le Sueurs started building the main house in front of the cabin. The house and cabin together were valued at $500 in the 1900 assessment. The cabin was then rented out.

The house is a one-storey, hip-roofed Queen Anne cottage, with a pedimented gabled bay on the right front. The front and rear gabled roof dormers were added c.1910. There are twin corbelled chimneys on either side of the peak of the hip, and brackets under the eaves. The pedimented gable above the cutaway bay is shingled. The bay has sunburst brackets and drop finials. The inset entry porch to the left has bracketed square turned posts and turned spindles in the frieze. There are sawn balusters in the balustrade. The house is clad in drop siding. There is a hip-roofed addition on the rear.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

1891-1994: Joseph Le Sueur (b. Jersey, Channel Islands, 1861-1949) and Annie Elizabeth “Minnie” (née Prestidge, b. Oxford, ENG, 1872-1934) came to Victoria in 1889 and bought this property in 1891. Their eldest daughter Clementine “Clemmie” (1899-1994) was born before the family moved into the new house in 1900, and her sister Orma was born in 1900. Joe added the dormers c.1910 when he built two small bedrooms in the attic for the girls.

A patternmaker and carpenter, Joe Le Sueur was working for Muirhead & Mann (223 Robert St, Vic West) by 1892. He built a number of houses in Victoria, including the two immediately to the east for the Kirkbrides (1276 Walnut St). Minnie was a member of Princess Alexandra No.18 DOE. Joe retired in 1929 and continued to live in the house with Clemmie after Minnie’s death. Clemmie worked for many years in the drapery department of the Hudson’s Bay Co. She was a member of Oaklands Chapel and often sent little gifts for the Sunday School scholars. After retirement from HBC, she became a recluse, living mainly in one bedroom on the main floor until her death. The home visitor who was assigned to her, not being able to get her to open the front door, would climb a ladder and look in the window to make sure she was alright.

OTHER OCCUPANTS:

When Terry Cunningham purchased the house in 1994, he acquired a great deal of documentation for the property. He completed some rehabilitation work before selling the house to Mickey King and Hal McNaughton in 1996. They continued the rehabilitation and asked the city to designate both the house and the cabin.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:

• Map of Victoria's Heritage Register Properties

• Fernwood History

• Fernwood Heritage Register


• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume One: Fernwood & Victoria West