Visitors gasp with wonder when they enter the Ross Bay Villa. “It’s stunning!,” “It’s a trip back in time!” or just, “Wow!” they exclaim. And passersby stop to tell the gardeners, “Oh, it’s looking so wonderful!”
They come from all over, every weekend, and without exception express their pleasure and surprise when they explore the restored house and garden.
“The Villa,” opposite the Ross Bay Cemetery at 1490 Fairfield Rd., has survived the buffeting of almost 150 years of gales from the Juan de Fuca Strait. But can it survive the buffeting of creditors and lawyers, as they circle the Land Conservancy of B.C.?
What will happen to this little 1865 gem if the Land Conservancy sells the property and forfeits the 70,000 hours of volunteer labour that made it what it is? TLC is desperate to find revenue sources to cover its deficit. But will everyone remember that the Ross Bay Villa Society, which operates the place for TLC, has a huge investment — moral, ethical, financial — in the house and garden?
After all the amazing skill and energy and enthusiasm that have been invested, could some developer truck the house off to become a millionaire’s guest cottage, and fill the garden with townhouses? Does a house of this sort — unique, meticulously restored inside and out, with an incredible history — have significance to the streetscape, to the people of Fairfield, and to all citizens? Or should we shrug and say: “They’re just volunteers: They have no rights. The neighbours have no rights: Let it go!”?
The fact the house is designated heritage by the City of Victoria should protect it in perpetuity, but it sits on a tempting double lot. And unfortunately, TLC, which was originally inspired by the heritage-based British National Trust, has done a 180-degree turn, suddenly dismissing heritage, and trying, for instance, to shed Keating Farm and the Binning House.
The villa is one of only three survivors from that era in Victoria that are open to the public.
It has been restored to the highest professional standards by a crew of devoted volunteers working in their spare time for more than 13 years. They’ve been led by specialists volunteering their expertise in restoring Victorian textiles, furniture, gardens, lath-and- plaster, oil-lamps, wallpaper, floor coverings — every detail needed to authentically restore a house to the 1860s.
What has motivated all those volunteers? For some, the reward has been in doing grunt-work that shows results — straightening square nails or digging a Victorian vegetable patch — but for others it’s been the reward of meticulously stripping off layers of wallpaper to find the original, or analyzing ancient paint samples, or making splines to fill floor cracks. For others, the reward has been in learning new skills: One team has been painting complex patterns on floor-cloth; another has been manufacturing wallpaper borders; and another has learned the skill of faux wood-graining. All to match the 1860s original.
So, what’s to be done? Raising thousands of dollars to buy the property from TLC is a tall order for a small crew of volunteers. Until the “grand opening” by the lieutenant-governor in August, they were focused on the structure itself, but now they’ve got to morph from restorers into business managers and fundraisers.
The house and garden would make a good movie location, and a great site for small meetings such as book clubs. The garden is a wonderful place for weddings and even wakes. School groups will be welcomed for house tours.
The place and the people are ideal for restoration workshops — how to make wallpaper, identify original paint schemes, paint wall-coverings, or make Victorian Christmas decorations. But while all these ideas might help pay the utilities, they won’t do much for a mortgage. So a major fundraising campaign will be needed. Could crowd-sourcing help — a 21st-century concept aiding a 19th-century house?
Meanwhile, family history is becoming a worldwide fascination. The villa has two rent-paying tenants: the Hallmark Heritage Society and the Old Cemeteries Society. Between them, they have incredible resources on houses and ancestors in the CRD, ripe for mining by researchers: Could this be Research Central?
But what’s also needed — as part of the group’s long-term business plan — is ideas for solid fiscal viability, and for support from the community it is meant to serve. Suggestions, please!
Nick Russell is a “Ross Bay Villain” and heritage advocate. He can be contacted at [email protected]
