Craigdarroch Castle

About

Welcome to Craigdarroch Castle. Designated as one of Canada's National Historic Sites, this Victorian Castle is a legendary historical house museum. Visit us today!

Story

Craigdarroch Castle is an example of a "bonanza castle", massive houses built for men who became wealthy because of the industrial transformation of North America. Three of Dunsmuir's American business associates were railroad entrepreneurs who had built their own bonanza castles: Collis P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker.

Dunsmuir's American connections are reflected in the Castle itself. He commissioned architect Warren Heywood Williams of Portland, Oregon to design Craigdarroch. When Williams died, Arthur L. Smith (a member of the same firm) completed the project with assistance from Williams' son, David L. Williams.

The interior oak panelling was fabricated by the A.H. Andrews Co. of Chicago from white oak probably felled on land owned by the subsidiary Andrews Lumber Company in Arkansas. These pre-fabricated elements (including stairs, doors, window frames, and 2182 panels) were shipped from Chicago to Victoria in five railcars in the summer of 1890, and installed in the house. Other woods used in the house included: Spanish mahogany (in the Library); western red cedar (in the Porte Cochere Entrance); cherry (in the Breakfast Room and used for the window sashes throughout the house); Hawaiian koa (in the drawing room floor); and multi-patterned parquetry throughout the house incorporate exotic woods such as walnut, jarra, rosewood, maple, holly, and oak.

The red slate for the roof was produced from a quarry near the Vermont/New York border. The ridge and hip roof pieces were originally manufactured in Lincoln, California by Gladding, McBean (a company still in operation). Paintings depicting American landscapes by Frederick Schafer adorned the walls of the Castle.

The Estate
Craigdarroch was a twenty-eight acre estate with the main entrance situated at the intersection of Fort Street and what is now Joan Crescent. From Fort Street the estate stretched south to what is now Rockland Avenue. On the south side of the Castle, the huge lawn was enclosed on three sides by a massive, twenty-foot high stone wall. Two staircases, on the east and west walls, provided access to the gardens below. In those days, a visitor could stroll along numerous paths and enjoy the quiet ponds, streams and meadows. The Castle grounds today are approximately 1.75 acres including this large south lawn which is currently undergoing extensive restoration.

Architecture
In the 1880's and 90's architects of the time were being influenced by a Romanesque revival that was underway.Leading the charge was American architect H.H. Richardson. What later became known as the "Richardsonian Romanesque" style can be seen throughout Craigdarroch Castle's construction. This very free, revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish and Italian Romanesque characteristics. It emphasizes clear, strong picturesque massing, round-headed "Romanesque" arches, often springing from clusters of short squat columns, recessed entrances, richly varied rustication, boldly blank stretches of walling contrasting with bands of windows, and cylindrical towers with conical caps embedded in the walling.

This style of building also imposed a great burden on the interior where close attention to detail was required in order to minimize the foreboding effects of the substantial construction. The Castle's interior oak panelling was fabricated by the A.H. Andrews Co. of Chicago. Their attention to detail gives the interior of Craigdarroch a warmth throughout and many of the rooms incorporate exotic woods such as walnut, jarra, rosewood, maple, holly, and oak.

Craigdarroch Castle also boasts some of the finest residential stained and leaded glass in North America. There are 33 original stained glass windows to see in the home and postcards of them are available in the Museum Gift Shop

Restoration
It wasn't until the Victoria Conservatory of Music vacated in 1979 that The Society was given the opportunity to operate the Castle solely as a historic house museum. Restoration work to return Craigdarroch Castle to the way it was when Joan Dunsmuir first took up residence could now progress at a much faster rate. In 1994, the City of Victoria sold the Castle to The Society, now renamed The Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society. With the support of annual visitation of approximately 140,000 visitors per year, the invaluable contributions made by volunteers, and the dedication of our staff, The Society continues its work as a non-profit organization. We thank you for your visit! Through your admission fee, you contribute directly to the preservation and restoration of this important National Historic Site.

The Latest at the Castle
After extensive archeological work and careful study of the journal maintained by the original landscape architect, the Board of Directors of the Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society took another step in the ongoing effort to conserve Craigdarroch Castle and bring its history to life. Completed in the spring of 2010, the grounds landscape project will add more to the story and to the length of a tour. It also provides those unable to climb the 87 stairs inside an opportunity to experience the Castle and its history from outside - something that was not easy to do before with the lack of paths. One of the highlights includes the reconstruction of the sandstone gates, located on the boulevard of Joan Crescent at Fort St. The placement of the gates provides visitors and residents with the experience of living on an estate the size of the Dunsmuir's.

The Society has also installed many historic plantings about the property to reflect the types enjoyed by the Dunsmuir's during their residency at the Castle. With the return of the walking paths on the South lawn to their historic locations plus additional seating, lighting and interpretive signs, people will enjoy a different way to experience the Castle grounds and the neighborhood of Rockland.

Artifacts
The Society's 1959 Constitution contained a couple of clauses describing the collection policy which were fairly exacting in their expectations, but in practice loosely implemented. Today, the Society is gradually finding new museum homes for earlier acquisitions and replacing them with better examples. When restoration of Craigdarroch is finished, most period room settings will look different than they do today.

To support The Castle Society, please email Elisabeth Hazell at [email protected] or call 250-592-5323 x32.