Heritage Register
North Park
840 Cormorant Street (ex-144 Cormorant St)
Built
1903-04
Heritage-Registered
For: Annie & James McGregor
Builder: James Hownden McGregor
ARCHITECTURE:
This front-gabled, two-storey house is a Queen Anne
box with three Classical pediments on the front façade.
The upper and lower floors of the two-storey box bay
are separated by a pent roof which is echoed in the bases
of the pediments. The upper bay is panelled below the
windows; there are oversized dentils below the lower floor
bay windows. The pedimented front porch to the right of
the bay has two square chamfered posts, two pilasters, and
square balusters. The house is clad in drop siding and has
a concrete foundation. This is one of the few houses in the
Amelia/Cormorant cluster to survive with a front-facing
gable.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
Owners: 1903-12: Annie E. (née McIvor-Campbell,
1838-1918) and James Howden McGregor (1839-1915), a
carpenter and cabinet-maker, lived across the street at 137,
renumbered 825 Cormorant, from 1902 until their deaths.
They came to Canada from Scotland in 1866, and to Victoria
c.1885. They built this house as rental property.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
1913-16 or later: John Harvey (1851-1936) paid taxes
and used this as a rental property. He immigrated from
England in 1886, and farmed in Maple Creek, SK, for
23 years before coming to Victoria in 1909. John’s first
wife, Clara Annie (Float, 1869-1924) was born in London,
England, and came to Canada in 1899. John married
widow Maude Ethel Hart (1877-1961) in Saanich in 1926.
He served as a Victoria City Alderman in 1918, 1919, and
1921-24. John was president of the SPCA, and a member
of the Victoria Conservative Association.
Tenants: 1904-06: Frederick Galloway, a school
teacher.
1908-09: Arthur Lineham (b. Newark-on-Trent,
ENG 1870-1923) came to Canada in 1891 and in 1898
married
Eleanor (née
Madigan,
b. Victoria
1873-1952)
(1 Cook St,
Fairfield).
Arthur was
manager of
BC Light &
Power Co,
then a real estate
executive
with Grant &
Lineham. He
was credited
as one of the
first who saw
Victoria’s
potential as a tourism destination. Eleanor was the daughter of Victoria pioneer
Benjamin Madigan, a chief engineer who came to Victoria
in 1860 and served on many early vessels including the
Beaver, Thames, and Sir James Douglas. Eleanor attended
St. Ann’s Academy (835 Humboldt St, Fairfield), and her
daughter Edith became Sister Eleanor Marie of the Order
of St. Ann.
1910-23: John James and Lottie Gillis; John, a ship’s
carpenter, was foreman at Turpin’s Shipyard.
1924:
Douglas Clunie Moodie (1869-1958) and Margaret Angus
(née Sutherland, 1888-1954) were both born in Scotland, and
married in Victoria in 1913. Douglas was a City employee
for 17 years until 1933, and was a street sweeper during the
time he lived here. A veteran of the Boer War and WWI,
he was a Sergeant in the Victoria Citadel Corps of the
Salvation Army for many years.
1926-28: Widower William
Dean (1839-1926), a stationary engineer who emigrated here
from Scotland in 1915, lived here briefly until his death. His
daughter Elspeth married Alexander Chisholm (1867-1956)
and they lived here until her death in 1928 at 49. Alexander
came to Victoria from Scotland in 1907 and was a stonemason
for over 50 years until 1930. He served overseas with the
67th Battalion, Western Scots, CEF, during WWI.
1929-74: Although city directories until 1941 listed
them only as “Chinese” and “Orientals,” Jack Nam Yipp
(1899-1976) and Eva (née Lowe, 1901-1944) were the
owners and residents. However, the 1929 phone book lists
Wing Yipp at 840 Cormorant, and the 1936 phone book
lists Jack Yipp. Jack and Eva were both born in Victoria.
Jack was the proprietor of Central Produce during the late
1940s, and later became a court interpreter. He lived at
this house until 1975, when he moved into an apartment at
1147 Quadra St.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:
• Map of Victoria Heritage Register Properties
• North Park History
• North Park Heritage Register
• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Three: Rockland, Burnside, Harris Green,
Hillside-Quadra,
North Park & Oaklands
