Rockland is a historic neighbourhood of

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Canada, located just southeast of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

and northeast of

Beacon Hill Park Beacon Hill Park is a 75 ha (200 acre) park located along the shore of Juan de Fuca Strait in Victoria, British Columbia. The park is popular both with tourists and locals, and contains a number of amenities including woodland and shoreline trai ...

, and comprising the northern portion of the official city neighbourhood of Fairfield. Its boundaries are imprecise but the area roughly flanks Rockland Avenue. The neighbourhood was founded as, and remains, one of the tonier neighbourhoods in the city, and contains a notable concentration of opulent houses and heritage architecture and lush gardenscapes. The two largest, and most famous, of Rockland's residences are

Craigdarroch Castle Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is a historic, Victorian-era Scottish Baronial mansion. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to its landmark status in Victoria. History It was constructed in the ...

, built by the

Dunsmuir Dunsmuir may refer to: * Dunsmuir, California, a city in the northern part of the state * Dunsmuir station, an Amtrak station in Dunsmuir, California * Dunsmuir station (British Columbia), a Via Rail station * Dola Dunsmuir, Canadian socialite * ...

fortune, and Government House.

History

The area known today as Rockland was originally divided between the land grants taken up by James Douglas, second governor of the

Colony of Vancouver Island The Colony of Vancouver Island, officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies, was a Crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia ...

and

Joseph Despard Pemberton Joseph Despard Pemberton (July 23, 1821 – November 11, 1893) was a surveyor for the Hudson's Bay Company, Surveyor General for the Colony of Vancouver Island, a pre-Confederation politician, a businessman and a farmer. He was born in 1821 i ...

. As early as 1860

Cary Castle Cary Castle stood on Lodge Hill overlooking the town of Castle Cary, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Details The motte and bailey castle was built either by Walter of Douai or by his son Robert who also built Bampton C ...

was built on a high point in Rockland with extensive views south to the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...

. Cary Castle was used as residence by

Arthur Kennedy John Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914January 5, 1990) was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the origi ...

, governor of Vancouver Island and served as the vice-regal residence for the Lieutenant-Governors of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

when the Province entered Confederation in 1871. The original Cary Castle was destroyed by fire in 1903, but was replaced by another grand mansion designed by architects Samuel Maclure, designer of many of Victoria's grandest homes, and

Francis Rattenbury Francis Mawson Rattenbury (11 October 1867 – 28 March 1935) was a British architect although most of his career was spent in British Columbia, Canada, where he designed the province's legislative building among other public commissions. Divorc ...

, architect of the

British Columbia Parliament Buildings The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The Speaker and the Serjeant-at-Arms are amongst those responsible for the legislative ...

. This building was in turn destroyed by fire in 1957, and was replaced by the present building that serves as Government House. In the late Victorian period additional grand homes were constructed along Belcher Avenue, as Rockland Avenue was then known, including ''Duvals'', constructed in 1862 and occupied by Joseph Needham, then Chief Justice of the Colony of Vancouver Island and later of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, before being sold to Francis Jones Barnard who operated a freighting company and stage coach line to the

Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the caribou that were once abundant in the region. The Cariboo was t ...

and was later a member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commo ...

(his son Francis Stillman Barnard was later Lieutenant-Governor). ''Gonzales'', the home of Joseph Pemberton, was built in 1885 near the corner of Rockland and St. Charles Street. ''Fairholme'', the home of John Chapman Davie and his wife Sara Holmes Todd, was built in 1886 on Rockland Hill. ''Gyppeswyk'', built in 1889 for the Greens who, like many of Rockland's early residents, relocated from the once fashionable

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost p ...

neighbourhood to take up residence in Rockland, served briefly as the residence of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia after a fire destroyed Cary Castle. Located on Moss Street, ''Gyppeswyk'' forms today the nucleus of the Greater Victoria Art Gallery. Another home built in 1889 was ''The Laurels'', which was later used as a boys' school, the gymnasium of which continues in use as the Langham Court Theatre. Further along Rockland Avenue stands the Rattenbury-designed residence built in 1900 for Lyman Duff, who became

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada (french: juge en chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court s ...

and his wife Elizabeth. The most costly residence built in Rockland during the Victorian era was

. Craigdarroch Castle was constructed in the 1890s as a family residence for the wealthy coal baron

Robert Dunsmuir Robert Dunsmuir (August 31, 1825April 12, 1889) was a Scottish-Canadian coal mine developer, owner and operator, railway developer, industrialist and politician in British Columbia. He was recognized as a National Historic Person by the governm ...

and his wife Joan. Robert died in April 1889, more than a year before construction on the castle was completed, and was set on of grounds with an entrance on Fort Street. His sons Alexander and James took over the role of finishing the castle after his death. The initial architect of the castle, Warren Williams, also died before completion of the castle. His work was taken over by his associate, Arthur L. Smith, in 1890. After the death of Joan Dunsmuir the castle was raffled off, served as a convalescent home for soldiers during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, then as Victoria College, the forerunner to the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

from 1920 to 1946. Apart from Government House itself, there are relatively few public buildings of any type in Rockland. At the beginning of Rockland Avenue on the edge of Downtown Victoria stands Christ Church Cathedral, begun in the 1890s with construction extending to 1990. Built in a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style reminiscent of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

, Christ Church is the cathedral church of the

diocese of British Columbia The Diocese of British Columbia, also known as the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets, is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon of the Anglican Church of Canada. Despite the name, the diocese comprises only t ...

.Segger and Franklin, p. 217 The

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) is an art museum located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Situated in Rockland, Victoria, the museum occupies a building complex; made up of the Spencer Mansion, and the Exhibition Galleries. The ...

on Moss Street is the only other significant public institution in the area.

References

External links

Rockland Neighbourhood Association website http://www.rockland.bc.ca/ {{coord, 48, 25, N, 123, 20, W, display=title, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Neighbourhoods in Victoria, British Columbia