DOI issue:
Nr. 188 (November 1908)
DOI article:Recent designs in domestic architecture
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20965#0145
the snow-capped peaks of the coast range ; again a
beautiful harbour surrounded by pine-clad slopes ;
or a great stretch of park-like country, timbered
with oaks, maples, poplars and alders ; of culti-
vated fields at the fringe of forests ; of a rocky
shore line ; of moorland brilliant with the blaze of
broom ; and far off beyond the stretch of sea, the
jagged line of the Olympian- Mountains ; while
again, on clear days, the majestic peak of Mount
Baker, 120 miles distant, rises high and clear above
the mists around its base. Some suggestion of the
natural beauty of Victoria is intelligently afforded
in one of Mr. Kipling’s recently published ‘ Letters
to the Family,’ from which I quote the following.
‘To realize Victoria,’ he says, ‘you must take all
that the eye admires most
in Bournemouth, Torquay,
the Isle of Wight, the Happy
Valley of Hong Kong, the
Dorn Sirente, the Camps
Bay ; add reminiscences of
the Thousand Islands and
arrange the whole round the
Bay of Naples with some
Himalayas for the back-
ground. Real estate agents
recommend it as a little piece
of England — the land on
which it stands is about the
size of Great Britain—but
no England is set in any
such seas, or so fully charged
with the mystery of the larger
ocean beyond. The high
still twilights along the
beaches are out of the old
East just under the curve
of the world, and even in
October the sun rises warm
from the first. Earth, sky,
and water wait outside
every man’s door to drag
him out to play if he looks
up from his work ; and
although some other cities
of the Dominion do not
understand this immoral
mood of Nature, men who
have made their money in
them go off to Victoria, and
with the zeal of converts
preach and preserve its
beauties.’
“Not the least charm of
the coast cities is the good taste generally evidenced
in their domestic architecture. In fact, it may be
asserted that, having regard to size and population,
there are few cities in America, and none in Canada,
as similarly attractive in this respect. Land being
relatively cheap, the houses usually stand on sites
of generous area ; while the growth of vegetation
is so rapid and luxuriant that within a year or
two after planting, the grounds surrounding a
newly-built house have all the appearance of old-
established gardens. Another advantage, and one
which is of considerable significance from the point
of view of the architect, is the mild and equable
climate. Whereas in Eastern Canada, for example,
the heavy snowfall necessitates that roofs shall be
PLAN OF SOMERSBY HOUSE, POLLOKSHIELDS
H. E. CLIFFORD, F.R.I.B.A., ARCHITECT
123
beautiful harbour surrounded by pine-clad slopes ;
or a great stretch of park-like country, timbered
with oaks, maples, poplars and alders ; of culti-
vated fields at the fringe of forests ; of a rocky
shore line ; of moorland brilliant with the blaze of
broom ; and far off beyond the stretch of sea, the
jagged line of the Olympian- Mountains ; while
again, on clear days, the majestic peak of Mount
Baker, 120 miles distant, rises high and clear above
the mists around its base. Some suggestion of the
natural beauty of Victoria is intelligently afforded
in one of Mr. Kipling’s recently published ‘ Letters
to the Family,’ from which I quote the following.
‘To realize Victoria,’ he says, ‘you must take all
that the eye admires most
in Bournemouth, Torquay,
the Isle of Wight, the Happy
Valley of Hong Kong, the
Dorn Sirente, the Camps
Bay ; add reminiscences of
the Thousand Islands and
arrange the whole round the
Bay of Naples with some
Himalayas for the back-
ground. Real estate agents
recommend it as a little piece
of England — the land on
which it stands is about the
size of Great Britain—but
no England is set in any
such seas, or so fully charged
with the mystery of the larger
ocean beyond. The high
still twilights along the
beaches are out of the old
East just under the curve
of the world, and even in
October the sun rises warm
from the first. Earth, sky,
and water wait outside
every man’s door to drag
him out to play if he looks
up from his work ; and
although some other cities
of the Dominion do not
understand this immoral
mood of Nature, men who
have made their money in
them go off to Victoria, and
with the zeal of converts
preach and preserve its
beauties.’
“Not the least charm of
the coast cities is the good taste generally evidenced
in their domestic architecture. In fact, it may be
asserted that, having regard to size and population,
there are few cities in America, and none in Canada,
as similarly attractive in this respect. Land being
relatively cheap, the houses usually stand on sites
of generous area ; while the growth of vegetation
is so rapid and luxuriant that within a year or
two after planting, the grounds surrounding a
newly-built house have all the appearance of old-
established gardens. Another advantage, and one
which is of considerable significance from the point
of view of the architect, is the mild and equable
climate. Whereas in Eastern Canada, for example,
the heavy snowfall necessitates that roofs shall be
PLAN OF SOMERSBY HOUSE, POLLOKSHIELDS
H. E. CLIFFORD, F.R.I.B.A., ARCHITECT
123