Heritage Register
Rockland

1617 Rockland Avenue
Patly (Patley)

Built 1905; 1918-19
Heritage-Registered

For: James Mitchell; David & Essie Angus

Architects: William Ridgway Wilson (1905)
Samuel Maclure (1918)
Contactor: William A. Gleason (1905)

ARCHITECTURE:

Patly was designed by Ridgway-Wilson, then extensively renovated by Samuel Maclure for $14,000. The remodelled house was described in the 1979 edition of This Old House as an “imposing but severe Georgian Revival structure,” but it is informal compared to Ridgway-Wilson’s original Italian Renaissance residence, as seen in the 1911 photo. The renovation obliterated the original corner pilasters, quoins and belt course; modillions replaced the paired eaves brackets. The Classical Greek pedimented entry portico was replaced< by a simpler enclosed vestibule fronted by a barrelvaulted< roof supported by four Tuscan columns. The main roof was extended to the left, given a second dormer, and a two-storey wing added on the front left, creating an Lshaped house. A single-storey extension was later added to this wing. The centrally-located columned portico on the right side was replaced by an offset angled bay with a balcony above. The round window was replaced by a rectangular window. The arched windows on the front to the left of the entry were removed, that on the right was replaced by a rectangular window. The house is stuccoed. The roof balcony on the right and the shutters have been added.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

1905-17: James Alexander Mitchell (b. Whitby, ON 1851-1926), partner in a local financial and stockbroking firm, Mitchell & Martin, worked in the grain business in Winnipeg before retiring to Victoria in 1906. He then lived in 1598 Rockland Av until his death, and never married.

OTHER OCCUPANTS:

1917-51: David James Angus (1875-1948) and Essie Muriel (née Stikeman, b. Blackheath, London, ENG 1883- 1948). Essie came to Montreal in 1888, and later met and married David, a lawyer. They came to Victoria in 1914. Their son, Dr. John Richard James Angus (1915-1975), turned it into the Rockland Av Nursing Hospital by 1951. Office space was added in 1955, but it became a private dwelling again in the 1970s.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:

• Map of Victoria's Heritage Register Properties

• Rockland History

• Rockland Heritage Register


• Royal BC Museum Archives

• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Three: Rockland, Burnside, Harris Green,
Hillside-Quadra, North Park & Oaklands