ARCHITECTURE:
Inglehurst is an good example of Swiss Chalet style, rare in Victoria. This two-storey, cross-gabled house shows typical features: low-pitched, front-gabled roof, wide, bracketed eaves and flat sawn trusses in the gables. Also typical are the full-width, upper-storey, cantilevered balcony with flat sawn balustrades, and decorative vertical stickwork applied over drop siding. Atypical features are the bays on the front and right side. On the R side of the house is a one-storey, hip-roofed, cantilevered box bay; to its left is a full-height, gabled box bay interrupted by a brick wall chimney with shoulders. On the left side of the house is a large gabled extension towards the rear, shingled on the upper floor. Also atypical is the inset left corner entry porch with square chamfered post and pilasters. The stair balustrades are of stepped stone. There are a number of stained glass windows. It was built for $3,000, and duplexed in 1950 for $3,000. In subsequent years Maclure modified the chalet style in a series of houses resulting in a house-type referred to as the “Maclure Chalet.” Among them are 1009 Terrace Av (1899-1900) and 1598 Rockland Av (1904). The decorative details on the house, missing for years, were replicated by Vintage Woodworks for Colony Construction in 1988.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
1896-1925: Mary Ann “Penelope” (née Clifton, b. Tilton-on-the-Hill, Leics, ENG 1834-1925) married Francis William Attwood (b. Froxfield, Wilts, ENG 1839-1867) in 1861 and came here in 1862. She married again in 1873 cabinetmaker Thomas Sidney Wilson (b. Yorks, ENG 1824-1906) who came to Canada in 1862 and worked for E&NR. They lived in 974 Balmoral Rd in 1887-88, then 959 Balmoral Rd (ex 29 Frederick St) until moving here where she remained until her death. PenelopeAttwood-Wilson was one of the first organists of Christ Church Cathedral, a noted soprano and a music teacher. She owned 919 Caledonia Av as rental property from 1899-1912.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
1928-31: Capt. Roy Wayne Troup (b. Portland, OR 1881-1954), son of BCCSS superintendent Capt. James Troup (1337 Rockland Av, “Robleda”; 470 Belleville St), married in Seattle in 1906 Maude (née Goodwin, b. Kansas City, MI, USA 1878), an accomplished musician and Harry Dallas Helmcken’s step-daughter. They divorced and in 1919 Roy married Emma Louise Sherman (b. Kansas City 1899-1989) in Los Angeles. Following in his father’s footsteps, he served on BC riverboats then for several years owned and operated the gasoline-fired sternwheelers Craigflower and White Swan Flyer as excursion boats in Victoria Harbour and up the Gorge Inlet. During WWI he served with the US Merchant Navy. They died in Los Angeles.
1931-36, 1941-52: Lt. Alexander “Nairn” Robertson, RCA, Barrister & Solicitor (b. Victoria 1896-1967), a graduate of Royal Military College, Kingston, ON, enlisted at Whitley Camp, ENG in 1918. He served with No. 5 Co. RCA and the RCHA. After the war, he held the rank of Capt. in the 5th (BC) Field Artillery Regiment. He played rugby with the Oak Bay Wanderers. In 1927 he married Elizabeth “Betty” Allan (née Schofield, b. Sydney, NS 1907-2001) in Victoria. He practised law here and in Vancouver; in Vancouver he was with Tobin & Pattullo.
Tenant: 1939: Vera Frances St. Thomas Easton (b. Charlotteville, VA, USA 1884-1985) never married. From 1942 until her death she lived with her sister Mrs. Kathleen Dunbar Beresford (née Easton, ENG 1881-1972) at 851 Wollaston St (Esquimalt Designated Heritage), the only house in Esquimalt designed by Francis Mawson Rattenbury.