Heritage Register
Victoria West

235 Langford Street

Built 1908-09
Heritage-Registered

For: Arthur & Margaret Walter

Architect: attributed to Alexander Maxwell Muir
Builder: William M. Ross

ARCHITECTURE:

This Edwardian Cottage is similar to 917, 923 & 929 Catherine St (see 917 for description). They were all built by the Walters as rental properties. The stepped stair balustrade seen in the 1911 photo has been changed to a sloped balustrade. This house recently had its double-bevelled siding and wood windows replaced with vinyl.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

Tenants: 1909-14: Eric Wilson Hardie (b. Manchester, ENG, 1886) and Abby Louise (née Cameron, b. Victoria, 1885) married in Victoria in 1908. Eric, the youngest of eight, came with his parents, Mary and Henry Hardie, in 1887. Eric was a teller with the Dominion Government Savings Bank and later a realtor and commission agent. [Note: Abby’s grandparents, Duncan and Jessie Cameron, came to Victoria from Scotland in 1860. Abby’s aunt, Agnes Deans Cameron (b. Victoria 1863-1912) was a famous early Victoria teacher and school principal.]

OTHER OCCUPANTS:

1915-18: E&N brakeman Ernest Henry Spall (b. Holton, Suffolk, ENG, 1881-1943) and Ellen (née Sellick, b. Winnipeg, MB, 1883-1950) married in Victoria in 1905.

1920-21: E&N conductor Ernest William and Mabel Hilda Maynard. Ernest was an electrician when he signed on with the CEF in 1915. He worked with BCER for 40 years.
1924: BCCSS employee John Gillam and BCCSS mate Jack W. Gillam. 1927-31: Pattern maker and labourer James Crawford Corkle, Jr. (b. Seattle, WA, 1891-1985) and Minnie Gertrude (née Fanthorpe, b. ENG, c.1902) married in Victoria.1923; James joined the CEF to fight in WWI in 1917.

1935-36: E&N yardman John Thomas and Elsie May Bennett married in Victoria in 1919.
1937-47: HMC Dockyard helper John S. and Margaret Hall moved here from 309 Langford, where they had lived in 1935-36. 1948-52: CNR conductor Alfred Russell Blais (b . Hokium, WA, 1900-1982) and Evelyn Ellen (née Belton, 1903-1989), and their daughter, BC government junior clerk Nadine.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:

• Vic West History

• Vic West Heritage Register

• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume One: Fernwood & Victoria West