Government House (British Columbia) - Architecture and Interiors

Architecture and Interiors

The present Government House is a T-shaped, four level (including the basement) building of steel frame construction clad in a Modern Tudor revival envelope. The walls are of rusticated blue, grey, and pink British Columbia granite with Haddington Island stone trim, and the roof, which is two storeys high in itself, has steeply pitched, chalet-style gables and numerous dormer windows. A rendition of the Royal Arms of British Columbia is visible in the gable above the Ballroom's south facing bow window, which commands a view over Ross Bay and the lower part of the Fairfield neighbourhood, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the Olympic Mountains in Washington State.

The main entrance is in the centre of the north facade, beneath the original Tudor Revival porte cochère of the previous Government House, which had been inspired by Rattenbury's own Hatley Castle. Behind this is the main entrance hall, the walls lined with oak panelling hung with painted portraits of former Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia, some of the chatelaines of Government House (the viceroy's wife), and large portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Rising to the second floor is a large staircase along which are renderings of the escutcheons of various members of the Royal Family and Governors General of Canada who have resided at Government House. The room is capped by a cathedral ceiling and the three storey high north wall is dominated by the Rogers Window, a stained glass creation commissioned by viceregal consort Jane Rogers to commemorate British Columbia's heritage as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, the contribution of viceroys and their spouses since the foundation of the Colony of Vancouver Island, and the place of Government House in provincial life. The window, unveiled on 2 May 1990, shows various heraldic devices of the monarch in right of the province and the monarch in right of Canada, natural emblems of British Columbia, and historical artefacts alluding to provincial industry and native heritage.

On axis with the front entrance is the largest room in Government House, the ballroom, which occupies the entire south wing of the building. It rises 12 m (39 ft) past an encircling balcony to a cathedral ceiling, from which hangs three Swiss cut crystal chandeliers that match the multiple wall sconces. Artwork includes the series of Millennium Windows, completed in 2006, that run along each side of the ballroom, and, reflecting the view from the room's south window, is a textile piece entitled Reflections at Government House, by Carol Sabiston. Also for entertaining purposes are the main dining room, modelled after the original Rattenbury and Maclure design with its fir panelling and containing a dining suite purchased in Scotland, and the drawing room, which also evokes the previous incarnation of the room. Available for smaller events are the little drawing room, sometimes called the French Drawing Room because of its furnishings of French origin, including a Sèvres clock and vases, and two rooms named for the architects of the second Government House: the Maclure room, done in an Arts and Crafts style with handcrafted furniture and a copper foil ceiling, and the Rattenbury room, used as a smaller dining room on the mansion's second floor and containing a table and chairs from the eponymous architect's personal collection, on loan from the Royal British Columbia Museum. The mansion also holds numerous art pieces in the Crown collection, including works by British Columbia First Nations artists especially commissioned by the lieutenant governor.