Built in 1889 and now home to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Spencer Mansion is a magnificent building with a rich and layered history. With detailed research, historian and author Robert Ratcliffe Taylor describes the original appearance of the house, designed by William Ridgway Wilson for Alexander Green and his family, as well as its inhabitants over the decades. Also known as Gyppeswyk, after the village in England where Green wed Theophila Rainer, the house is more commonly referred to as the Spencer Mansion, after later owners David and Emma Spencer. The book also chronicles the brief period when the residence served as BC's Government House and concludes with the story of how the house came to function as an art gallery. A unique book, The Spencer Mansionshowcases a true gem of Victoria's architecture and history.
When war in Europe broke out in 1914, why did so many men from Victoria, BC, Canada, enlist enthusiastically? What did they feel about the war they were fighting? What were their personal values? Were they ever disillusioned in the trenches of the Western Front? To what extent did they enjoy combat? How did they regard the German enemy? And faced with artillery bombardment, execrable living conditions, and the fear of death or maiming, what helped them to carry on? In researching these questions, the author found that Victoria was a unique city in several ways and that some assumptions about Canadian soldiers' trench experience may not apply to volunteers from that city. Moreover, the culture of the time was different from that of Canada today so that the enthusiasm for military life and for "the empire" may seem bizarre to young people. Ideals of masculinity may seem outdated, and the concepts of personal honor and duty, which these men supported, may be obsolete. This essay tries to understand the culture of Canada and especially that of Victoria, BC, a century ago, a pertinent exercise considering the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.
Imperial Eden" is a collection of poems written mainly by citizens of Victoria, British Columbia, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries about that city. Established in 1843 as a Hudson's Bay Company trading post, Victoria became the capital of the province in 1866. Before the opening of the Panama Canal and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, however, its inhabitants were relatively isolated from the rest of North America. The city's beautiful location and its semi-Mediterranean climate inspired visitors, locals, and poets to describe it as a "paradise". But this remote "Eden", surrounded by mountains, forest and the sea, was deeply loyal to Great Britain, believing that its far-flung empire was the repository of "freedom" and many civic and moral virtues. As well, local writers exhibited a militarism usually associated with Prussia. Eager to defend the British Empire, many of its citizens enthusiastically supported England in the remote South African War (1899-1902) and volunteered for service in the Great War (1914-18). Both wars were seen as a defence of decency and civilization embodied by Britain.This book shows how local poets lauded the beauty, the Britishness of Victoria and the imperial connection, but also how, confronted with the realities of modern warfare, their loyalty to the Empire waned c. 1920.
Revealing a little-known chapter in the history of Victoria, British Columbia, The Birdcages, the province’s first legislative buildings, were built 1859-1864, the formative, tumultuous time of the Gold Rushes. Constructed on the site of the present Legislature, they were built amid controversy and derided for their style. The brainchild of Governor James Douglas, they resembled, according to journalist/politician Amor de Cosmos, “something between a Dutch toy and a Chinese pagoda.” Readers will discover how civil servants and politicians felt about them as a workplace and what the general public thought about them as civic architecture. The career of their designer, the mysterious Hermann Otto Tiedemann, one of Victoria’s vivid early “characters,” is recounted as are the contributions of local contractors and tradesmen. The site of events of national importance until their demise in 1898, the Birdcages reflected the history, character, and heritage of Victoria and played an important role in the developing political traditions of the province and the young Dominion of Canada. A place for political demonstrations and community celebrations, the House of Assembly was where the MLAs debated joining Confederation, granting the vote to women, and excluding Asian immigrants. Based on personal memoirs and letters, government documents, photographs and plans, this book will interest both students and adults, history buffs and professional historians.
In 1860, Cary Castle was built by George Hunter Cary in Victoria, the bustling Gold Rush capital of Vancouver Island. Cary was the brilliant “Boy Attorney-General,” unethical, unpopular and mentally disturbed—one of the colony’s vivid early characters. In 1865 Governor Arthur Kennedy forced the parsimonious Legislative Assembly to purchase the mansion as Vancouver Island’s Government House. After 1871, it became the vice-regal residence of the new province of British Columbia which it remained until it burned down in 1899. Defectively built and uncomfortable to live in, prone to drafts, fires and water leakage, it nevertheless reflected the character and heritage of Victoria and played an important role in the history of the province and Canada. The venue of elegant social events, as well as personal dramas, the mansion hosted British royalty, governors general, naval officers and local political leaders, and could have become a Canadian historic site. Cary Castle was also a family home for vice-regal couples where babies were born, boys slid down the bannister in the main hall, nasty diseases were endured and the Chinese “help’ was indispensable. Based on personal memoirs and letters, government documents, newspaper articles, photographs and plans, this book recreates how that idiosyncratic mansion looked and even smelled. Professor Martin Segger described Dr. Taylor’s earlier study, The Birdcages. British Columbia’s First Legislative Buildings (Friesen, 2020), as “a significant contribution, [with] fascinating detail, [and] a highly readable writing style.” (Ormsby Review, April 22, 2020) Between Heaven and Balmoral expands the picture of colonial Victoria developed in The Birdcages and will appeal to readers interested in Victoria’s history, especially its early social and architectural development.
Imperial Eden is a collection of poems written mainly by citizens of Victoria, British Columbia, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries about that city. Established in 1843 as a Hudsons Bay Company trading post, Victoria became the capital of the province in 1866. Before the opening of the Panama Canal and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, however, its inhabitants were relatively isolated from the rest of North America. The citys beautiful location and its semi-Mediterranean climate inspired visitors, locals, and poets to describe it as a paradise. But this remote Eden, surrounded by mountains, forest and the sea, was deeply loyal to Great Britain, believing that its far-flung empire was the repository of freedom and many civic and moral virtues. As well, local writers exhibited a militarism usually associated with Prussia. Eager to defend the British Empire, many of its citizens enthusiastically supported England in the remote South African War (1899-1902) and volunteered for service in the Great War (1914-18). Both wars were seen as a defence of decency and civilization embodied by Britain.This book shows how local poets lauded the beauty, the Britishness of Victoria and the imperial connection, but also how, confronted with the realities of modern warfare, their loyalty to the Empire waned c. 1920.
In 1860, Cary Castle was built by George Hunter Cary in Victoria, the bustling Gold Rush capital of Vancouver Island. Cary was the brilliant “Boy Attorney-General,” unethical, unpopular and mentally disturbed—one of the colony’s vivid early characters. In 1865 Governor Arthur Kennedy forced the parsimonious Legislative Assembly to purchase the mansion as Vancouver Island’s Government House. After 1871, it became the vice-regal residence of the new province of British Columbia which it remained until it burned down in 1899. Defectively built and uncomfortable to live in, prone to drafts, fires and water leakage, it nevertheless reflected the character and heritage of Victoria and played an important role in the history of the province and Canada. The venue of elegant social events, as well as personal dramas, the mansion hosted British royalty, governors general, naval officers and local political leaders, and could have become a Canadian historic site. Cary Castle was also a family home for vice-regal couples where babies were born, boys slid down the bannister in the main hall, nasty diseases were endured and the Chinese “help’ was indispensable. Based on personal memoirs and letters, government documents, newspaper articles, photographs and plans, this book recreates how that idiosyncratic mansion looked and even smelled. Professor Martin Segger described Dr. Taylor’s earlier study, The Birdcages. British Columbia’s First Legislative Buildings (Friesen, 2020), as “a significant contribution, [with] fascinating detail, [and] a highly readable writing style.” (Ormsby Review, April 22, 2020) Between Heaven and Balmoral expands the picture of colonial Victoria developed in The Birdcages and will appeal to readers interested in Victoria’s history, especially its early social and architectural development.
When war in Europe broke out in 1914, why did so many men from Victoria, BC, Canada, enlist enthusiastically? What did they feel about the war they were fighting? What were their personal values? Were they ever disillusioned in the trenches of the Western Front? To what extent did they enjoy combat? How did they regard the German enemy? And faced with artillery bombardment, execrable living conditions, and the fear of death or maiming, what helped them to carry on? In researching these questions, the author found that Victoria was a unique city in several ways and that some assumptions about Canadian soldiers’ trench experience may not apply to volunteers from that city. Moreover, the culture of the time was different from that of Canada today so that the enthusiasm for military life and for “the empire” may seem bizarre to young people. Ideals of masculinity may seem outdated, and the concepts of personal honor and duty, which these men supported, may be obsolete. This essay tries to understand the culture of Canada and especially that of Victoria, BC, a century ago, a pertinent exercise considering the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.
Revealing a little-known chapter in the history of Victoria, British Columbia, The Birdcages, the province’s first legislative buildings, were built 1859-1864, the formative, tumultuous time of the Gold Rushes. Constructed on the site of the present Legislature, they were built amid controversy and derided for their style. The brainchild of Governor James Douglas, they resembled, according to journalist/politician Amor de Cosmos, “something between a Dutch toy and a Chinese pagoda.” Readers will discover how civil servants and politicians felt about them as a workplace and what the general public thought about them as civic architecture. The career of their designer, the mysterious Hermann Otto Tiedemann, one of Victoria’s vivid early “characters,” is recounted as are the contributions of local contractors and tradesmen. The site of events of national importance until their demise in 1898, the Birdcages reflected the history, character, and heritage of Victoria and played an important role in the developing political traditions of the province and the young Dominion of Canada. A place for political demonstrations and community celebrations, the House of Assembly was where the MLAs debated joining Confederation, granting the vote to women, and excluding Asian immigrants. Based on personal memoirs and letters, government documents, photographs and plans, this book will interest both students and adults, history buffs and professional historians.
Built in 1889 and now home to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Spencer Mansion is a magnificent building with a rich and layered history. With detailed research, historian and author Robert Ratcliffe Taylor describes the original appearance of the house, designed by William Ridgway Wilson for Alexander Green and his family, as well as its inhabitants over the decades. Also known as Gyppeswyk, after the village in England where Green wed Theophila Rainer, the house is more commonly referred to as the Spencer Mansion, after later owners David and Emma Spencer. The book also chronicles the brief period when the residence served as BC's Government House and concludes with the story of how the house came to function as an art gallery. A unique book, The Spencer Mansionshowcases a true gem of Victoria's architecture and history.
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