ARCHITECTURE:
This house and 2583 were built on two halves of one lot by developers, close to the end of the pre-WWI boom. They are both one-storey vernacular Edwardian bungalows, small working-class homes. 2587 is hip-roofed with a hip-roofed dormer on the front; both with exposed rafter tails. As the attic was not used, the window of the dormer was for ventilation. There is a cantilevered box bay on the left side and a shed-roofed addition on the left rear. Front-facing stairs on the left front lead to the inset corner entry porch. A wide belt course separates the basement from the main floor. The house is shingled, the basement has coarse rubble concrete foundation. The six-light windows in the basement are original.
Smith & Adams, builders, had an office in 221 Sayward Bldg, 1207 Douglas St, where William S.D. Smith ran a real estate firm. In 1913 they also built Esquimalt Methodist Church, 500 Admirals Rd (extant), by architects Breseman & Durfee (1600 Quadra St).
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
1914-15: Archibald Rankin, owner, was a baker at Perfection Bakery, 2629 Prior St.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
1920: Vernon Scott Mortimer (b. Toronto 1887) and Regina Victoria “Rena” (née Wall, b. Victoria 1897) married in Victoria in May 1915, six months after Vernon signed his Attestation Papers in Victoria for WWI. At the time, he was a rancher in Vernon, but by 1920 he was working for Harbour Marine Co in Victoria.
1923: Teamster and chauffeur Ernest Bentley (b. Manchester, ENG, 1891-1977) married Ida May (née Richardson, b. Scarborough, ENG, 1891-1974) in August 1914. A year later, he volunteered for the CEF in WWI. On his return, he became a salesman for Spencer’s Department Store.
1924: Fearon Woodburn (b. Nanaimo 1891-1974) and Mabel Olive (née Brewster, b. Victoria 1893-1964). Fearon’s father, coalminer Samuel Woodburn, was killed in Nanaimo by a fall of coal before Fearon was two; his mother Jane married another coalminer in 1895. When Fearon signed up for WWI in 1915, he was a chauffeur for Victoria Fire Department. By 1924 he was a policeman, and went on to become a detective with Victoria City Police.
1926: Edward Lockley Chester and Margaret Alice Madge (née Hoffner), both born in England, married here in 1924; Edward was a teamster.
1927: Beatrice Robinson, widow of W.H.M. Robinson.1928-32: Cameron Lumber Co machinist John Moody (b. Dunster, ENG 1900) and Jenny Owen (née Jones, b. Holyhead, ENG 1902-?) were married at Centennial United Church (612 David St) in 1928.
1933-35: BC Telephone Co employee Wilfred Henry Sturrock (b. Port Townsend, WA, USA 1910-1980) and Margaret Gertrude (née Brockington, b. Victoria 1909-1988).
1937-38: Victor Howard Midgley (b. Vancouver 1914-1962) married Freda Evalyne (née Foot, b. Crofton, BC 1918-2003) in Port Angeles, WA in 1933. Victor was a lather, but for his last 15 years was the international representative for the Carpenters Union.
1939-41: Raymond Archibald Hunt (b. Walsall, ENG 1905-1960) and Mona Marion (née Dobbie, b. Merritt, BC, 1913-2008); Ray was a window dresser at General Warehouse Ltd, one of the Spencer companies at 1110 Government St. He later owned a sign company.
1942: HMC Dockyard clerk Percy Irving Hope (b. SCT 1888-1950) and Emily (née Holdway, b. Guildford, Surrey, ENG 1888-1989). Percy worked at Dockyard during WWII, and retired to Saanich after the war.
1943-62: John McGregor (b. Alloa, SCT 1889-1972) married Rosie (née Bardsley, b. Bonnie Doon, MB 1908-1994) in 1942. John was a pipefitter at Yarrow shipyard during WWII, and later worked as a City labourer. Rosie worked for New Method Laundry and then as a clerk with BC government.