Description of Historic Place

941 Victoria Avenue is a single-storey side-gabled cottage with a full-width verandah across the main facade, located in Oak Bay, British Columbia. The house is clad in shiplap siding, with shingles in the gable peaks. It is set well back on the lot with a mature cottage garden in front.

Heritage Value

This cottage, built in 1919 and originally rented to a piano tuner, is valued because it illustrates the social and economic range of people who moved to Oak Bay during the municipality's early development. It is a rare survivor of the kind of vernacular cottage that was constructed at a time when Oak Bay was undergoing rapid development from a rural, agricultural area to a residential community and a holiday resort. The British Columbia Electric Railway Company opened a tramway to the area in 1893, making it possible for those who did not have their own transportation to live in Oak Bay and commute to work in Victoria.

The cottage is further valued because, from 1963 to 2008, it was the studio of J. Fenwick Lansdowne, the internationally-recognized painter of birds. Lansdowne is renowned for his meticulously detailed works, which have been exhibited in museums and galleries all over the world and are held in many public and private collections. Lansdowne is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and an Officer of the Order of British Columbia.

Source: District of Oak Bay Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of 941 Victoria Avenue include its:
- picturesque setting on a residential street
- location in the centre of the lot
- form, scale, and massing; side-gabled roof
- wood frame construction
- exterior architectural details such as single central brick chimney, full-width verandah, original panelled front door; decorative moulding on side door
- regular fenestration, casement windows with bull-nosed mouldings, awning window
- original interior features such as panelled wainscoting with plate rail; fir floors, panelled ceilings, bull-nosed mouldings around openings
- landscape features such as original wrought-iron gate