Description of Historic Place
The Stable / Garage RR4 is a handsome two-storey, U-shaped building designed in the Tudor Revival style, and features wide-eave dormer windows, half-timbering, ventilation cupolas, and terra-cotta load-bearing walls with white stucco cladding. Originally built to house all of the Dunsmuir’s transportation and provide staff living quarters, the Stable / Garage RR4 has been converted to serve as classrooms, and is located along College Road, southwest of Hatley Castle within the agricultural zone of the Royal Roads University. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Heritage Value
The Stable / Garage RR4 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.
Historical value:
The Stable / Garage RR4 is associated with the manifestation of great wealth and lavish estates created by leading Canadian industrialists at the beginning of the 20th century. Built during the construction and operation phase of the Dunsmuir’s estate (1908-1937), the Stable / Garage RR4 replaced the first stables and a car garage and were part of Brett & Hall’s comprehensive landscape plan to improve the estate grounds. The Stable / Garage RR4 is also associated with the expansion of the Canadian Armed Forces and the development of its professional training programs during and after World War II. During this second phase of the site’s development, the Department of National Defence purchased the estate to establish the Royal Roads College, whereby the Stable / Garage RR4 was converted to serve as staff accommodations and classrooms, and later as a university conference centre.
Architectural value:
The Stable / Garage RR4 is a very good example of the Tudor Revival Style. The building’s picturesque exterior design and materials speak to the site’s original function as a component of the model farm, and is characterized by English half-timber construction, pair and triplet window groupings, gable dormers adorned with decorated barge boards, and exposed rafters at the eaves. Designed as a multi-purpose building, the U-shaped footprint has proven to be extremely adaptable and has housed carriage and car spaces, repair workshops, stables, and
staff accommodations. The Stable / Garage RR4 is constructed of high quality materials and craftsmanship as evidenced by the terra cotta load bearing walls, the half-timbered dormer windows, and decorative details.
Environmental value:
The Stable / Garage RR4 reinforces the pastoral character of the university, and is set against the regenerated forestland dating from the military phase. Visually prominent owing to its scale and architectural design, the Stable / Garage RR4 speaks to the Edwardian estate period and is an important component of the typical country home from that era. The Stable / Garage RR4 is located along the southern service road, southwest of Hatley Castle, and is familiar to the faculty and students of Royal Roads University.
Sources:
Andrew Waldron, Stable / Garage RR4, Royal Roads University, Colwood, British Columbia. Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Building Report 99-137.
Stable / Garage RR4, Royal Roads University, Colwood, British Columbia. Heritage Character Statement 99-137.
Character-Defining Elements
The following character-defining elements of the Stable / Garage RR4 should be respected:
Its Tudor Revival Style and its high quality materials and craftsmanship as manifested in:
-the scale, massing and well-balanced composition of this one-storey, U-shaped building which features gable roofs, dormers, and projecting ventilation cupolas;
-its functional and adaptable interior layout;
-the pair and triplet grouping of six-over-six vertical sliding sash windows;
-the load-bearing terra cotta walls finished with white cement plaster (stucco); and,
-the Tudor Revival style details such as the half-timbered facades, dormer windows and roof gables, the decorative barge boards at the dormer eaves, and other decorative details such as the exposed rafters.
The manner the building reinforces the pastoral character of the former estate as evidenced in:
-its compatibility with the park-like Edwardian campus and the other buildings that were formerly part of the estate and have since been adapted for university functions.
