Heritage Register
Rockland
1320 Purcell Place
(ex-1041, then 1085 Moss St)
Built
1912; 1944
Heritage-Registered
For: Beatrix & James Cameron
Architects: William D'Oyly Rochfort & E.W. Sankey (1912);
Hubert Savage (1944)
Contractors: Cameron Investment & Securities (1912); George H. Wheaton (1944)
ARCHITECTURE:
This charming two-storey British Arts &
extensions on either side of a wide projecting balcony with
sawn balusters. Below the balcony is the entry porch with
its massive stone piers and balustrades. On either side of
the porch are hip-roofed angled bays. There are hip-roofed
box bays on the left and right sides of the house; the left one
is cantilevered. All of the bays have modillions under the
eaves, as does the porch roof. The upper storey and gables
are half-timbered and stuccoed, the main floor is shingled.
The basement is clad in bevelled siding, with stone piers on
all corners, and the foundation is concrete. A wide, shingled,
shed-roofed dormer has been added on the front.
Rochfort & Sankey, best known for the Royal Theatre (805 Broughton St, Fairfield, 1912), were partners for just
three years, until WWI. Rochfort had apprenticed with Samuel
Maclure, and the strong finials and decorative bargeboards
here are reminiscent of Maclure’s work. The 2,400-square
foot house was built with nine bedrooms at a cost of $15,000.
Although it was converted to eight suites during WWII, it still
stands on a substantial lot, which adds to its imposing presence.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
1912-41: James Oscar Cameron (b. Sparta, TN, 1867-
1943) and Beatrix (née Freeman, 1872-1954), the daughter
of a judge, married in Carlsbad, NM, in 1893. [They
also built 1802 Belmont Av, Fernwood, in 1912.] James,
a lawyer and shipbuilder, was president of Cameron
Investment & Securities and Cameron Lumber Co, and a
partner in Cameron Bros Timber Co. He was educated at
Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN, and called to the
Texas and New Mexico bars in 1890. James practised law
1900-07 in Carlsbad, and was involved in public utilities
and ranching. The Camerons came to Victoria in 1907 and
James established Cameron Lumber Co with his
brother Donnell Officer Cameron, also a lawyer, in 1908.
The mill prospered overall, but a fire in 1917 and another
in 1931 halted production for a period of time. The 1931
fire required complete reconstruction of the mill resulting
in a modernized facility. Three years after James died,
Donnell sold it to eastern capitalists, and it became the
Victoria branch of BC Forest Products.
Beatrix was a powerhouse in local music circles.
She revived the Victoria Ladies’ Musical Club in 1930 as
the Victoria Musical Arts Society for men and women,
and was president for two years. Beatrix brought many
internationally renowned musical performers to Victoria
and was a patron of the Victoria Symphony. She is
credited with organizing the City’s first musical festival,
and in 1948 sponsored the J.O. Cameron Memorial
Pavilion in Beacon Hill Park, to be used for free concerts.
James and Beatrix moved to 1262 Rockland Av in 1941.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
Tenants: 1942: Gladys Dacre Jancowski (née Barrett-
Lennard, b. Port Hope, ON 1888-1970); her husband
Richard Frederick Jancowski (b. ON 1883-1953) was a
master mariner.
1943: Professor of Music William Raven
(b. Coventry, ENG 1884-1967) and Doctor of Music
Eleanor “Millicent” (née Weston, b. ENG 1886-1955).
Beatrix Cameron had the house converted to 8 suites
in 1944 by architect Hubert Savage.
Tenants: 1947-48: John
A. and Margaret Mellander. John’s mother was a daughter
of Victoria architect Wm. Ridgway-Wilson.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:
• Map of Victoria's Heritage Register Properties
• Rockland History
• Rockland Heritage Register
• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Three: Rockland, Burnside, Harris Green,
Hillside-Quadra,
North Park & Oaklands
