Heritage Register
James Bay

128 Government Street

Built 1936
Heritage-Designated 1993

For: Alice Louisa Mansell

Architect: Hugh C. Nalignt
Builder: A.H. White

ARCHITECTURE:

This 1½-storey 1930s English Tudor Cottage has a side-gabled roof with a gabled dormer on the left front and a gabled extension on the rear. There is a gabled extension on the front to the right of the dormer with a modest catslide roof. Concrete steps and curved balustrade lead to a small recessed front porch below the catslide. Typical of the period is the basement garage in the extension, with its original panelled and multi-paned doors. The windows are multi-paned-over-one, with triple windows on the main floor on either side of the porch; the central windows have arched transoms. The siding is double-bevelled above the watertable, with shingles in the gables and on the dormer. The foundation is concrete. There is a three-flue brick chimney on the rear slope of the roof behind and to the right of the dormer.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

Alice Louisa Mansell owned this house for 12 years and lived here with her siblings, Arthur, James and Horace, all born in Victoria. Three other siblings married and lived elsewhere. Their parents, Henry and Frances Mansell, came to Victoria from England in 1862 via Cape Horn on the Sumas. Henry made and sold boots and shoes, first for others, then in his own shop. He died in 1910 at 77. The family resided at 118 Government St (designed 1911 by Thomas Hooper) for about 25 years until their mother’s death in 1931.

Alice (1869-1948), the eldest child, never married. She worked as a buyer for a clothing merchant for 33 years until retiring in 1932. Arthur (1874-1942) was a general labourer most of his life, and worked at the shipyard until 1918. James (1870-1958) was a shoe salesman for 44 years until retiring in 1932. He lived at 128 until at least 1951. Horace (1881-1963), was also a shoe clerk, and was the only sibling to serve overseas during WWI. He lived in this house for over 10 years, but moved to Coquitlam, BC, in the 1940s.

OTHER OCCUPANTS:

The house was purchased in 1975 by Janet Hawksley (1921-2010) and her son Derek (132 South Turner St, James Bay). This was the only designated 1930s house in Victoria until 2006. A retired teacher, Janet had a lifelong dedication to social justice and environmental concerns.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:

• James Bay History

• James Bay Heritage Register



• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Two: James Bay