Description of Historic Place

The Hutchison Residence is a one-and-one-half storey wood-frame British Arts and Crafts style bungalow set in a lush English garden, located in the North Quadra area of Saanich.

Heritage Value

The Hutchison Residence is valued for its association with well-known Canadian newspaperman and celebrated author, William Bruce Hutchison. The house is an important tribute to the country life that Hutchison and his wife, Dorothy Kidd Hutchison, established for themselves in 1926-27. The rural context of this house is significant, as it provided Hutchison with a retreat from the demands of his professional life. This homestead also provided Hutchison the inspiration for his novel "A Life in the Country", which relates the presence of this place in the once natural and remote Saanich environment, and its contention with inevitable urban sprawl.

This house is valued as an excellent example of Old World craftsmanship, both in the interior and exterior. The construction was undertaken by two Scottish carpenters whose services included finishing work inside as well as out. The Arts and Crafts elements of the house such as half-timbering and brackets, are representative of the highly skilled workmanship associated with the construction of early twentieth century domestic architecture.

Source: Heritage Planning Files, District of Saanich

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Hutchison Residence include its:
- rural setting of the house, and the unimpeded views
- relationship between the built and natural environment
- form, scale and massing
- garden elements dating to the time of Hutchison's residence, including the lantern and sundial, historic plantings, rockwork, and paths
- exterior Arts and Crafts elements of the house, such as wide bargeboards with canted ends; half-timbering; posts and brackets; inset upper sleeping porch above the front door; wood-sash multi-paned casement windows; tall parged-brick chimneys; gable-in-gable on north and east facades and shed-roofed dormer on south roof slope; and roughcast stucco
- interior Arts and Crafts elements of the house, such as woodwork and cabinetry dating to the time of construction