Heritage Register
Fairfield

440 Kipling Street (ex-438 Walton St)

Built 1928
Heritage-Registered

For: A. Alexander

ARCHITECTURE:

This English Cottage has a low-pitched hipped roof with a front gable. It is clad in roughcast stucco and the upper gable is embellished with four diamond-shaped tiles. There are two tall brick chimneys; the exterior one is parged. Eaves are open with exposed rafters. The roof forms an eyebrow over the left triple window which is balanced by an arched triple window on the right. Both front windows consist of a central fixed pane with 8-over-1 double-hung sash windows on either side. A small gabled entry porch features an arched opening and narrow multi-paned windows on its side walls. Concrete steps, contained by a low solid balustrade, lead to a tiled landing and a multi-paned front door. The south wall includes a slender projecting box bay and three piano windows with leaded glass. Most windows appear to be original including several panes of rippled glass. Older photographs show window boxes under the front windows. There is a matching garage, but with a later door. The large gabled dormer on the north side is a later addition.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

A. Alexander took out a plumbing permit for this house in 1928, but little is known about him. The house appears to have been built for newlyweds Archibald William (1890-1964) and Helen Margaret (Boyce) Erickson, who moved in after their honeymoon in 1929. However they only lived here for about two years. Born in Nebraska to Norwegian parents, Archibald came to BC with his family in the late 1890s. He was co-proprietor of Pearce, Erickson & Hill, wholesale cigar and tobacco merchants, and retired in 1958. He was also a veteran of WWI.

Robert Henry (1909-1991) and Dorothy “Dot” Wild (Turnbull, 1909-2001) Heywood bought this house in 1933. Bob and Dot were both born in Vancouver to British immigrant parents, trained in education at UBC, and then taught school. They married in Vancouver in 1933 and moved to Victoria, where Bob became a teacher at Victoria High School. They returned to Vancouver in 1956 after selling the house for $14,000. Bob eventually became a professor of business at UBC and they lived on SW Marine Dr until their deaths.

OTHER OCCUPANTS:

Robert Henry (1909-1991) and Dorothy “Dot” Wild (Turnbull, 1909-2001) Heywood bought this house in 1933. Bob and Dot were both born in Vancouver to British immigrant parents, trained in education at UBC, and then taught school. They married in Vancouver in 1933 and moved to Victoria, where Bob became a teacher at Victoria High School. They returned to Vancouver in 1956 after selling the house for $14,000. Bob eventually became a professor of business at UBC and they lived on SW Marine Dr until their deaths.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:

• Fairfield History

• Fairfield Heritage Register



• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Four: Fairfield, Gonzales & Jubilee