Description of Historic Place

1134 Dallas Road is a wood frame three-storey residence in the English Arts and Crafts style located on the Dallas Road waterfront in Victoria's Fairfield neighbourhood.

Heritage Value

The historic place, built in 1913, is valued for its architecture, its architect, and for its original owners.

1134 Dallas Road is valued as an excellent example of the English Arts and Crafts style. The house is a Victoria interpretation of Charles Francis Annesley Voysey's small bungalow house type. Voysey was a prominent English Arts and Crafts architect and designer. His houses featured rough plaster walls with huge pitched roofs and wide overhangs and are recognized for their simplicity.

There is also value in the association with the architect, Harold Joseph Rous Cullin. Born in England, he came to Canada in 1904. He first worked in the office of Samuel Maclure, but opened his own practice a year later. Cullin worked in many styles, designing each building 'to use every inch of space without loss of the artistic.' He designed at least seven schools in the Victoria area, commercial blocks and apartments, and several residences, including this example.

The house was built for William Dobson, whose son, Algernon, was music master for the city's University School for Boys from 1907-1916. H.J.R. Cullin was the bursar for University School, and it is most likely through this association that the commission was obtained.

Source: City of Victoria Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage character of 1134 Dallas Road is defined by the following elements:
- characteristics of the English Arts and Crafts style, including rough-cast plaster walls, steeply-pitched bell-cast hipped roof with hipped and shed dormers, buttressed corners, tall finials, tall chimneys, and inset front porch
- casement windows with lead lights
- well set back from the street
- location on the waterfront facing the ocean
- corner location