Description of Historic Place

The Gordon Head Community Hall is a simple one-storey, one-room wood-frame structure, located on Tyndall Avenue within Lambrick Park, in the Gordon Head area of Saanich.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Gordon Head Community Hall is associated with the growth and development of its neighbourhood context. Gordon Head is bordered on the north and east by Haro Strait and on the west by Blenkinsop Valley and Mount Douglas. First settled by farmers, starting with James Todd in 1852, Gordon Head became famous for its strawberries and then its daffodils. In 1921, city water service was brought to Gordon Head, leading to a proliferation of greenhouses and vegetable farming. Since the 1950s, the area has gradually been developed with single-family housing.

The heritage value of the Gordon Head Community Hall also lies in its association with the Gordon Head Mutual Improvement Society. This society was formed in 1896 for the purposes of "music, literary exercises and social intercourse" by the local schoolmaster Walter Clayton. By 1898, the society was so well supported that members decided to construct this hall. Land was given by William C. Grant, a farmer who had been the first to grow strawberries in Saanich and one of the first trustees of the Society, and the hall was constructed by volunteer labour using donated materials.

The hall is valued as a testament to the community spirit and generosity of Saanich's early residents. In this farming area, families were scattered and there was a great need for social events that would bring the community together. The Society was the centre of community life for many years, but as conditions in this rural community changed, the hall fell into disrepair, and once again the generosity of a local pioneer, Arthur Lambrick, ensured the hall's continued existence by paying to have the building moved onto his land in 1932. During the Second World War, the hall was important as the centre for local community war work. It has hosted a variety of activities and groups, including the Gordon Head Badminton Club, the Gordon Head Athletic Association, and more recently the Guides and Scouts, and the Garden Club. It is important that over a century after its construction, the building still fosters a sense of community in this active and expanding neighbourhood.

Source: Saanich Municipal Archives, file 4146 Tyndall Avenue

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements of the heritage character of the Gordon Head Community Hall include its:
- form, scale and massing
- exterior drop siding
- gable-roof, with a shed-roofed extension and a hip-roofed entrance vestibule