Heritage Register
Oaklands

2663 Fernwood Road

Built 1912-13
Heritage-Registered

For: Frederick & Sarah Parfitt

Architect: Charles Elwood Watkins
Contractors: Parfitt Brothers

ARCHITECTURE:

This is a 2½-storey, front-gabled Edwardian Arts & Crafts house. It has exposed rafter-tails and finials in all the gables. A through-the-cornice wall gabled dormer on the left and a two-storey, gabled extension on the right shelter a variety of shallow box bays and small oriel bays on jigsaw cutout brackets. There are flat-roofed, cantilevered and bracketed box bays on the left rear side and on the right front. An inset corner porch on the left front is separated from an upper gabled extension by a wide pent roof. The porch has two full-height granite piers and two granite pilasters; its sawn balusters have an A&C motif. Originally there was a balcony above the porch with simi-lar balusters. The gables and second floor have stucco and half-timbering, the first floor has bullnose, doublebevelled siding, the foundation on the sides and rear is shingled. The front foundation and the staircase are clad in random granite. This 10-room house appeared in March 1913 in Vancouver’s Daily Building Record, listing the architect and a cost of $7,000.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

1912-52: Fred Parfitt (b. Somerset, ENG 1870-1931) and his brothers Jim and Aaron arrived in Victoria in 1889, and Fred became a bricklayer and contractor. In 1892, he returned to England, married Sarah Hamblin (1876-1957) in 1898 and managed a building firm for 17 years. In 1908, Fred briefly returned to Victoria to join Parfitt Brothers Ltd with his brothers Jim, Aaron, Mark and Albert. This became one of Victoria’s leading and longest surviving construction firms from 1907 until 1950, when the younger generation of the family renamed it Parfitt Construction Co. In 1910 Fred returned to England to bring his wife and five children to Victoria. They lived at 1921-23 Fernwood Rd (Fernwood) for several years until 2663 was built. Fred was a long time member and then conductor of Emmanuel Baptist Choir. Sarah lived here after Fred’s death until 1952, and was living with their daughter Lillian Smith around the corner at 1271 Kings Rd when she died.

OTHER OCCUPANTS:

1953-55: Victoria College teacher George “Reid” Elliott (b. ON 1904-1974) and Helen Margaret (née Munro, b. Morden, MB 1902-1987); Reid was later a Professor at the University of Victoria.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:

• Map of Victoria Heritage Register Properties

• Oaklands History

• Oaklands Heritage Register


• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Three: Rockland, Burnside, Harris Green,
Hillside-Quadra, North Park & Oaklands