(Click here for another picture) Craigdarroch Castle - Victoria
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Constructed for Robert Dunsmuir, Craigdarroch Castle was made possible due to the immense wealth the Dunsmuir family gained from the rich coal fields near Nanaimo. In addition to the coal industry, Dunsmuir also built the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway. He ran for public office, and was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly representing Nanaimo in 1883.

Dunsmuir moved to Victoria to assume his duties as representative of the people. He began to purchase property on the highest spot in Victoria with a view to building a landmark, a monument to his wealth. The house still commands panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, affording views of the San Juan Islands to the East, Olympic Mountains and Strait of Juan de Fuca to the South, Victoria Harbour to the West and the hills and farmlands of Saanich to the North.

The castle was designed in an eclectic style of the High Victorian period by Williams and Smith of Portland, Oregon. It was constructed between 1887 and 1890 using the finest of materials from across the continent and cost upwards to $500,000. The architecture of the castle reflects the character of Dunsmuir who wanted the largest and most expensive house in western Canada, reminiscent of his Scottish heritage, and to dominate the landscape of Victoria.

Craigdarroch is a large and well-preserved example of the mansions built by wealthy individuals throughout North America from the late 1870s until the 1920s. It is among the earliest existing examples in western Canada and distinguished by its interior and exterior design, well-preserved stained glass, grand staircase and interior woodwork.The collection at historic Craigdarroch Castle includes a D. W. Karn Style 74 reed organ (No. 18507), on display on the first landing of the main staircase. A small plaque affixed to it reads:

Presented to Erskine Church
by Young Peoples and
Junior Christian Endeavour Societies
of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Victoria, BC, October 26, 1913

The Craigdarroch eclecticism borrows from several styles, characterized by: steeply pitched hipped roof, round spires and decorated gables borrowed from the Château style; entrance and window detailing and stonework on wall surfaces from Romanesque Revival; Gothic windows, Jacobean dormers, balconettes, corbelling and variations in texture and colour associated with the Queen Anne Revival style. Craigdarroch is the only known residence in Canada utilizing terra cotta in combination with Vermont red slate.

Dunsmuir passed away, in 1889, before completion of the building. Mrs. Dunsmuir took up residence with three children and two grand-children in late 1890. Following Mrs. Dunsmuir’s death in October 1908, the Dunsmuir daughters subdivided the estate into 144 residential lots, reserving one large parcel for the castle and grounds. The castle was then raffled off as a prize to purchasers of the residential lots. It was won by Solomon Cameron of the Westholme Lumber Company, who used it to secure a loan. The property was lost, on a failed debt, to the Bank of Montreal in 1919.

Subsequently, the City of Victoria purchased the property. The structure, over its history, has been used as: the Craigdarroch Military Hospital, a rehabilitation centre and hospital for soldiers (1919-1921); home of Victoria College (1921-1946); offices for the Greater Victoria School Board (1946-1968); offices and studios for the Victoria Conservatory of Music (1969-1979); and finally, as a heritage house museum under the care of the Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society (1979-present).

Preservation of Craigdarroch Castle rests with a group formed by the late James K. Nesbitt in 1959, the Society for the Preservation and Maintenance of Craigdarroch Castle, later renamed the Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society. The Society continues to restore the building to the period of occupancy by the Dunsmuir family (1890 to 1908).

1050 Joan Crescent
Victoria BC Canada
V8S 3L5
Phone: (250) 592-5323.