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This article is for the Canadian mansion. For the Scottish house, see Craigdarroch.

Craigdarroch Castle is a Victorian-era mansion and National Historic Site of Canada located in Victoria, British Columbia Canada. The building is most notable for its relationship to Canadian industrialist Robert Dunsmuir, and the historic role it has played in Victoria's cultural development.

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[edit] Construction, architecture, and early history

A number of different accounts have been circulated surrounding the conception of Craigdarroch Castle; one of the most popular is the romantic story that Robert Dunsmuir promised his wife Joan Dunsmuir a castle if she would leave her native Scotland and join him in the colony of Vancouver Island. Promoted mainly by Dunsmuir supporters, because it portrayed Robert in a positive light, this legend has been largely discounted by historians as being an exaggeration contrary to the indomitable personality of Joan.[1]

Regardless, during the 1870s large mansions and "bonanza castles" had become status symbols for many of the nouveau-riche on North America's west cost — especially railroad industrialists. Robert Dunsumir moved in many of the same circles as these men, and eventually decided to build a mansion of his own.[2] He selected one of Victoria's most prominent architects, Warren Heywood Williams, who had designed many other grand buildings and homes in Victoria, to build his estate on a prime plot of land located on a hill just outside of the city's downtown.[3]

Known mainly for Italianate buildings, Williams settled on a Scottish Baronial style to honour Dunsmuir's heritage, with an eclectic design that was part-mansion, and part-castle.[4] Construction began in the summer of 1887, with several local contractors retained to begin work immediately. However, Williams' health was failing, and his death in 1888 lead to an apprentice, Arthur Smith, taking over the construction. Smith's inexperience, coupled with worker shortages lead to long delays, and cost over-runs for the project; by the time construction ended, it had cost the Dunsmuirs around a half-million dollars — approximately $10,000,000 in modern terms.[5][6]

Questions remain as to whether the project was ever fully completed, as Robert Dunsmuir's death in 1889, coupled with the construction problems, put a damper on the final expenditures for the castle.[7] As a result, the building is mixture of "oddly unfinished"[8] opulence and elegance, with a diversity of different architectural styles popular during the Victorian period; including Roman arches, Jacobean dormers and Elizabethan chimneys. The steep French Gothic roof, made of red New York slate, rises over four and half stories into the air in château style. The exterior stonework was drawn from a local quarry, while the stained and leaded glass windows are believed to have been commissioned from an American studio — they are currently one of the best remaining collections of period glasswork in North America.[9]

While the exterior appeared to be largely completed, Joan Dunsmuir was put-off by the project and left Victoria to travel abroad, leaving the interior decoration and much of the work for the grounds to her sons James and Alex Dunsmuir.[10] Together, they decided on a deadline of August 15, 1890 to have the entire castle finished for their mother's return. They set a punishing pace for construction, and spent an unprecedented sum of money for the interior of the building and the gardens on the grounds. Craigdarroch's interior was finished with five rail cars full of "choice and expensive"[11] hardwoods, along with numerous doors, windows, moldings and panelings.[12]

Following the completion of the main decoration, the interior was furnished by Joan in opulent fashion — velvet settees, Persian carpets, oil paintings and sculptures graced the dozens of different rooms in the house.[13] Many of the items, such as the books in the library, and the paintings on the first floor, were purchased en masse simply to furnish the enormous house.[14] Socially, the building was a success for the Dunsmuirs, and an 1891 wedding at Craigdarroch was labeled "the most fashionable and brilliant witnessed in Victoria..." by the Colonist.[15][16]

[edit] Later history and hospital era

However, the fortunes of the Dunsmuir family began to wane in the years following the compeletion of the castle. An acrimonious dispute over the Dunsmuir fortune and assets pitted James Dunsmuir against his mother and sisters. Having risen to become Premier of British Columbia, the subsequent court battles destroyed him politically, while sullying the family's reputation.[17] The Dunsmuir family split up, with Joan residing in Craigdarroch, while James built a rival estate called Hatley Castle across town. After Joan's death in 1906, the castle and her estate was divided among her five remaining daughters.[18]

By this point, the Dunsmuir fortune had been greatly diminished and none of Joan's daughters had the ability or inclination to buy out the castle from the others — as a result, it was decided that Craigdarroch would be sold off at auction. A series of complicated legal manouevres led to the large estate being divided up into 144 — one of which contained the castle itself.[19] In an attempt to make the sale more interesting, the lots were not sold individually; rather, for a flat rate a "ticket" was sold, and the lots randomly distributed by a draw. The winner of the Craigdarroch estate, and third owner of Craigdarroch castle was Solomon Cameron — altogether, the Dunsmuir sisters recouped scarcely $48,000 apiece from the sale.[20]

Cameron, a local businessman specializing in lumber, never took up residence in Craigdarroch, and instead installing a caretaker and used the equity in the home to finance investments in property.[21][22] However, Cameron could not afford to maintain the castle properly, and it slowly slipped into disrepair; Ripley's Believe It or Not! featured the castle in a 1948 cartoon, calling it "the White Elephant".[23] Cameron's fortunes continued to fall as World War I broke out, and by the end of the war he was destitute; Craigdarroch castle was seized by the Bank of Montreal in 1919, which had $300,000 of outstanding loans drawn against it.[22] However, an arrangement had been made several months prior with a local military branch to establish the castle as a military hospital and vocational training facility for men returning from the war. The interior was renovated to accomodate the men, and a small annex built outside to house a workshop and studio for re-training purposes.[24]

The hospital was completed prior in September, 1919 — just prior to a visit by Prince Edward VIII. However, the hospital did not last long; changes in facilities led to the patients being moved elsewhere in 1921, and the building became vacated. The legal owner, the Bank of Montreal, was forced to look elsewhere for a suitable tenant.[25]

[edit] Victoria College

Main article: Victoria College, British Columbia

The local college, a McGill University-sponsored organization known as Victoria College, became the next residents of Craigdarroch Castle. Originally quartered on the third story of a local high school, the founders of Victoria College chose Craigdarroch for its expansive rooms, which made adequate lecture halls. The College had a lively home at Craigdarroch, with many dances and social events held in the ballrooms and lounges of the castle; many of the former students recall the romantic settings which the ornate rooms provided.[26]

The college was run on a two-year program, offering courses in mathematics, French, English, and Greek. Many notable students and teachers took courses at the college, including Canadian author Pierre Berton who worked as art direction for the college paper — his name is still visible today, scrawled into the woodwork in the men's common room.[27]

However, by 1946, enrollment in the college had swelled to over 600 students — far more than the 300 it was able to comfortably accommodate.[28] A former student recalls that:

Some of the rooms were so packed with tables and benches that I can remember a number of students, after entering the classroom, having to walk over desk tops to get to their seats. [...] The halls were so crowded that when you left your classroom you have to move with the flow. If you wanted to go to a classroom on your left but the traffic was moving left to right, then you went with the flow often all the way outside and then tried to catch your classroom on the next pass.[29]

The situation was untenable not only to students, but to the local Fire Chief and local health board, who decided that the overcrowding was both a health and fire hazard. In 1944, student protests and a petition led to the government moving the college out of Craigdarroch and into a local Normal School, which would eventually become the University of Victoria.[30]

[edit] Later history and Craigdarroch today

From 1946 until 1967, Craigdarroch was the headquarters for the Victoria School Board, and was used mainly as office space. The building was slightly inconvenient for the office purposes, with the many by-ways and stairwells; however, the main problem was that the building attracted many tourists and visitors, despite not being open to the public. As British Columbia's centennial approached in 1958, considerations began towards making Craigdarroch castle a tourist attraction and historic site, but the school board could not be persuaded to sell.

Led by local amateur historian and reporter Jame Nesbitt, the Castle Preservation Society was formed to lobby for the restoration and protection of Craigdarroch as a historic site. The Society attrached a formidable and powerful following, including Lieutenant Governor Frank Ross, Premier W.A.C. Bennet and the great-grandson of Robert Dunsmuir, Jame Audain. In 1966, the Castle Society produced documents proving that the legal title to Craigdarroch rested with the City of Victoria and began to lobby for its preservation as a historic site, as it was falling into disrepair.

However, in 1964 the Victoria College of Music moved into the building following a promise to work with the Castle Society to maintain and repair the building. A few rooms on the bottom floors were tentatively restored and made open to the public for a donation. This arrangement persisted until 1979 when the College of Music moved into a new building, and the city council handed over Craigdarroch castle to the Castle Society.

Since then, the castle has been extensively repaired and restored using donations and, since 1986, an admittance fee. The many rooms and unique setting of the castle have invited many uses

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 19
  2. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 19-22
  3. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 22-24
  4. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 26, 28
  5. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 29-33
  6. ^ There remain questions about the true costs of construction. Estimates for construction costs have ranged from $185,000 to $500,000. See Reksten (1987) Appendix II (pp. 106-108) for a more complete discussion.
  7. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 32-37
  8. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 31
  9. ^ A Short History of the Castle, pp. 1
  10. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 37
  11. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 39
  12. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 37-40
  13. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 40-41
  14. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 42-43
  15. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 42-46
  16. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 45
  17. ^ Reksten 1991, pp. 155-197
  18. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 50-58
  19. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 58-63
  20. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 60
  21. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 61
  22. ^ a b A Short History of the Castle, pp. 4
  23. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 62
  24. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 61-63
  25. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 63-69
  26. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 69-73
  27. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 86
  28. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 88
  29. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 88-89
  30. ^ Reksten 1987, pp. 90-92

[edit] References

[edit] External links


Category:Buildings and structures in Victoria, British Columbia Category:National Historic Sites of Canada Category:Museums in British Columbia Category:Houses in Canada Category:Historic house museums