OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

The Beasley House Restoration, Victoria

Brian and Karen Maycock

The 1912 Beasley mansion at 943 St. Charles Street, Victoria, was designed in 1912 by architect Samuel Maclure for Harry and Katherine Beasley. Mr. Beasley came to Victoria in 1909 as superintendent of the E & N Railway.  Their home was often used for entertaining CPR officials.

The Beasley mansion design is somewhat unusual, showing the influence of the Prairie Style on Maclure’s work. The horizontal emphasis in the facade verandah, broad eave overhangings of the “floating” hipped roof and grouped window casements, are reinforced by the rigid geometrical treatment of the half-timbered second storey.

In 1947, the Beasleys converted the mansion into a duplex, reversing the staircase and creating new openings.

When the Maycocks purchased the house in 2003, it had been the victim of renovators who had given it a “skin-deep” treatment. Despite a daunting amount of work and expense facing them, the Maycocks willingly began their project.

Interior and exterior surfaces were scraped to uncover the original paint colours, plaster cornices were painstakingly retouched, and the cast iron fireplace facades were scoured down to their bare surfaces. Light fixtures were restored or replaced by Waterglass Studios. All floors were refinished and walls were moved to restore Maclure’s original plan. Old-growth fir was milled to match the grain of the damaged wainscoting. When the Maycocks were unable to find craftspeople to do the work, Brian learned how to restore the plaster cornices himself.

Nearly every room features a coal fireplace with vertical-set subway tiles in green or amber shades. The interior is finished with William Morris-inspired wallpapers and period paint colours. The rooms contain vintage oak furnishings and a large collection of Morris chairs.

The Maycocks are to be commended for spending three years in meticulous restoration to return this mansion to its original grandeur. This project won the Hallmark Society’s highest honour, The Louis Award, in 2008.