Heritage Register
Rockland
800 St. Charles Street
The Grange
Built
1912
Heritage-Registered
For: Robert & Elizabeth Fraser
Architect: Thomas Hooper
ARCHITECTURE:
This two-storey, gabled Arts & Crafts house has
exposed rafter tails. All gables have bracketed string courses
and are half-timbered. The Rockland façade has an offset
gabled box bay with a sleeping porch above the former
main entrance porch; both porches are now enclosed.
The St. Charles façade has a gabled box bay with a hiproofed
angled bay on its lower front. Both box bays are
full-height, but the ridge of the main roof is higher. To the
right a bracketed, flat-roofed canopy shelters the now main
entry door and sidelights. The right side of the house has
a gabled extension with an angled bay. The rear has a
large art glass window. All the windows are multi-light
casements in banks of three. The brick basement has
segmentally-arched windows; the main floor has roughcast
stucco, with half-timbering above. The brick chimneys are
simply corbelled. There is a matching
garage. The garden has a crenallated
stone wall with a wrought iron gate.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
1912-25: Dr. Roderick L. Fraser
(1859-1925) and his wife, Elizabeth (née
Thomson, 1866-1934). Roderick was
born in Kincardine, ON, and educated as a
teacher. He came here c.1883 and taught at
South Saanich School. In 1887 he married
Elizabeth, daughter of Scottish immigrants
William and Margaret Thomson, at their
home, Bannockburn, near Mt. Newton
in Central Saanich. Roderick went to
Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia,
graduating in 1891. He opened his
medical office at the corner of Yates
and Douglas Sts, then was City Health
Officer until 1900. Roderick gained a
reputation for kindness and compassion,
as did Elizabeth, who often accompanied
him on house calls. In 1901 he built a
brick residence and offices at Broughton and Douglas Sts
(where the Sussex now stands), designed by Thomas Hooper
(demolished in 1937). In 1912 he built this home to provide
a quieter family home, keeping his offices downtown until
1924. Roderick was a member of the BC Medical Council
and the Dominion Council, and staff member of Royal
Jubilee and St. Joseph’s Hospitals.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
1926-31: Their son William “Allan” Fraser (1898-
1973), a physician with offices on Douglas St, lived in this
house until 1929 with his mother. Allan married Laura Eng
in the 1930s. He served overseas during WWI and WWII.
From 1939-46 he was with the RCA Medical Corps in
charge of No.12 General Hospital in Belgium. When he
returned to Victoria he joined BC Medical Insurance as
a consultant. Allan’s sister Katherine “Kitty” Fraser then
lived in 800 St Charles with her husband Raymond Castle,
president of R.F. Castle & Co, financial agents. In 1931
the Castles moved to 582 St. Charles St with Kitty’s
mother; Elizabeth died there in 1934.
1933-38: Guy and Christina Langton. Guy was the
agent for Vancouver Island Coals.
1939-45: BC Supreme
Court Justice Harold Bruce Robertson (1875-1961) and
Helen McGregor (née Rogers, 1880-1969). Harold’s father,
Alexander Rocke Robertson (1841-1881), a lawyer, was
Victoria’s mayor in 1870-71, an MLA and Provincial
Secretary from 1871-79, and was named to the bench in
1880. After Alexander’s death, his wife Margaret (1845-
1912) took their seven sons to Ontario to complete their
education, then returned to Victoria with them. Harold earned
his law degree at University of Toronto’s Osgoode Hall and
was called to the Ontario bar in 1897. He and Helen married
in Peterborough, ON, in 1903. Harold dabbled briefly in
politics, winning a 1906 by-election for the Victoria seat in
the BC Legislature. Several months later, his party lost the
election and Harold retired from politics. Harold practised
law in Victoria until 1925, then moved to Vancouver where
he was associated with the firm Robertson, Douglas &
Symes. He came back to Victoria in 1933 when he was
appointed to the Supreme Court. He was elevated to the BC
Appeal Court in 1943, and retired in 1955.
1946-47: James N. Taylor, manager of the Bank of
Montreal.
1948-49: Bruce and Amelia Thompson. Bruce
was an underwriter with Mutual Life Insurance Co.
1950-57: William Gregory operated this property as The
Grange guesthouse.
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