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H.T. Ceperley Estate 'Fairacres' Mansion
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/landmark526
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Description
- 'Fairacres' is a large, two-and-one-half storey estate house in the British Arts and Crafts style, located in Deer Lake Park, with four associated original outbuildings.
- Associated Dates
- 1911
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Other Names
- Henry Tracy & Grace Ceperley Estate
- Burnaby Art Gallery
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Other Names
- Henry Tracy & Grace Ceperley Estate
- Burnaby Art Gallery
- Geographic Access
- Deer Lake Avenue
- Associated Dates
- 1911
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Enactment Type
- Bylaw No. 9807
- Enactment Date
- 23/11/1992
- Description
- 'Fairacres' is a large, two-and-one-half storey estate house in the British Arts and Crafts style, located in Deer Lake Park, with four associated original outbuildings.
- Heritage Value
- 'Fairacres' is important as a record of the early years of Burnaby, specifically the Deer Lake area, as a place of tranquility and beautiful scenery in which the wealthy and successful in the burgeoning cities of New Westminster and Vancouver chose to retire or to make their family homes. The main house, which anchors in style and setting the outbuildings on the estate, demonstrates the social, cultural, and aesthetic values of local wealthy businessmen and women of the early twentieth century - values such as appreciation of architectural elegance and grand interior spaces, leisure and recreation, formal landscaped gardens and scenic views. Also important is the association with the English-born and trained architect Robert Mackay Fripp (1858-1917), as this was one of his grandest residential commissions. Steeped in the current architectural trends in Great Britain, Fripp designed this sprawling mansion in the Arts and Crafts style, reflected in the architectural detailing and proportions. The style was common at the time and was often used for estate mansions as a symbol of affluence and good, modern taste as well as an affinity for all things British. Quality is displayed inside and out in the finishes and materials, orchestrated by prominent local contractor, James Charles Allen, including imported English materials of specific value such as imported Medmenham tiles in the fireplace surrounds, one of the earliest documented use of these tiles outside the United Kingdom. Detailed features of the interior woodwork were carved by Scottish-born master wood carver George Selkirk Gibson (1867-1942), who was best known for his many commissions for prominent British Columbia architect Samuel Maclure. The outbuildings at 'Fairacres' are an important record of the functioning of a large estate of the time. The Garage and Stables and the Chauffeur’s Cottage accommodated the use of automobiles, horses and carriages, and in concert with the estate's location near the new British Columbia Electric Railway 'Burnaby Lake' interurban line, illustrate the evolving nature of regional transportation and the growing bedroom communities and estates made possible by increasing options for transportation. Other outbuildings accommodated the agricultural activities that helped support the Ceperley estate. The estate was conceived and funded by American-born Grace E. Dixon Ceperley (1863-1917), who had achieved significant wealth through a bequest from her brother-in-law, Vancouver pioneer Arthur Ferguson. Her husband, Henry Tracy Ceperley (1850-1929), also American-born, was a successful and well-respected businessman who made a significant contribution to the development of the City of Vancouver. The construction of 'Fairacres' spawned the transformation of the Deer Lake area from a farming community into a preferred location for elite suburban homes. 'Fairacres' is significant to the City of Burnaby as its first civic heritage conservation project. Acquired in 1966 for conversion to Burnaby’s first art gallery, it was dedicated in 1967 to mark Canada’s Centennial of Confederation.
- Defining Elements
- Key elements that define the heritage character of the ‘Fairacres’ mansion include its: - setting in relation to the gardens, its former market garden, and the vistas to Deer Lake and other grand homes in the area - side gable roof with prominent dormers and cedar shingle cladding - verandah across the eastern (garden) facade, with its view over the landscaped gardens and the distant mountains - porte cochere with its side steps for those arriving by automobile, and central raised step for those alighting from horse-drawn carriages - rich variety of exterior elements that demonstrate the typical Arts and Crafts use of local materials such as cobble stone chimneys and foundations, wide wooden siding and half-timbering - mixture of double-hung and casement wooden-sash windows, many with multi-paned sash - lavish interior spaces, designed for entertaining on a grand scale, including a billiard room with a beamed ceiling and an inglenook fireplace, and generous living and dining rooms arranged off a central hall - quality of the interior materials such as imported Medmenham tiles in fireplace surrounds, window hardware by Hope and Sons, and leaded stained glass - interior wood work including the staircase, and carvings by George Selkirk Gibson - remaining formal Edwardian garden landscape elements, including the cross-axial plan that reflects the relationship of the mansion to its 'outdoor rooms'
- Locality
- Deer Lake Park
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Douglas-Gilpin Area
- Architect
- Robert Mackay Fripp
- Function
- Primary Current--Museum
- Primary Historic--Estate
- Community
- Burnaby
- Cadastral Identifier
- P.I.D. No. 004-493-311 Legal Description: Block 3 Except: Part subdivided by Plan 26865, District Lot 79, Group 1, New Westminster District, Plan 536
- Boundaries
- ‘Fairacres’ is comprised of a single municipally-owned property located at 6344 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.
- Area
- 17,065.00
- Contributing Resource
- Building
- Landscape Feature
- Ownership
- Public (local)
- Other Collection
- City of Burnaby, Visual Art Collection: Original rendering by R.P.S. Twizell Burnaby Historical Society, Community Archives: Ceperley Photograph Album Burnaby Village Museum, Collection: Carved dining room panels by G.S. Gibson and other hardware items
- Documentation
- Heritage Site Files: PC77000 20. City of Burnaby Planning and Building Department, 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C., V5G 1M2
- Names
- Ceperley, Grace
- Ceperley, H.T.
- Fripp, Robert Mackay
- Allen, James Charles
- Gibson, George Selkirk
- Street Address
- 6344 Deer Lake Avenue
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
Images
Interview with Tony Fabian by Kathy Bossort October 29, 2015 - Track 2
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory597
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1956-1980
- Length
- 0:15:48
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Tony Fabian’s memories of his moving to Hardwick Street in Burnaby in 1957; his views about early attitudes toward clearing the land in Burnaby and how people’s attitudes changed with regard to protecting the environment; and his description of the “golden ye…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Tony Fabian’s memories of his moving to Hardwick Street in Burnaby in 1957; his views about early attitudes toward clearing the land in Burnaby and how people’s attitudes changed with regard to protecting the environment; and his description of the “golden years” for park creation and planning in the 1970s.
- Date Range
- 1956-1980
- Length
- 0:15:48
- Subjects
- Geographic Features - Parks
- Geographic Access
- Hardwick Street
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Douglas-Gilpin Area
- Interviewer
- Bossort, Kathy
- Interview Date
- October 29, 2015
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Tony Fabian conducted by Kathy Bossort. Tony Fabian was one of 23 participants interviewed as part of the Community Heritage Commission’s Burnaby Mountain Oral History Project. The interview is mainly about Tony Fabian’s part in park creation and protection of natural areas in Burnaby, particularly as a member of the Park and Recreation Commission in the 1970s; his childhood and how that contributed to his land ethic; and the history of the uses made of and setting aside parkland on Burnaby Mountain.
- Biographical Notes
- Tony S. Fabian was born in 1934 in north Saskatchewan. At less than a year old Tony, along with his siblings, was removed from his family home and eventually placed with an immigrant farm family. As a child he worked on the farm and witnessed what he considered abusive treatment of the land and farm animals. When he was about 12 years old his adoptive family moved to the BC coast where he went on his own, working for a variety of farmers in Richmond and Delta. At 19 he contracted polio, quit farm work, and found work with the telephone company. In 1956 Tony married, and in 1957 he and his wife moved to a home on Hardwick Street in Burnaby where he still lives. Tony entered civic politics in the 1960s when he objected to development on Hardwick Park and became concerned about the destruction of Burnaby’s natural landscapes. He became a life long advocate for preserving natural areas and helped to create large parks in Burnaby on the foreshore of the Fraser River and on Burrard Inlet. He served as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission 1970-1975, is a long time volunteer with the Burnaby Lake Park Association, and continues to stay current on local and regional environmental issues. In 2008 Tony was presented with the City of Burnaby Environment Award for Community Stewardship.
- Total Tracks
- 7
- Total Length
- 1:43:22
- Interviewee Name
- Fabian, Tony S.
- Interview Location
- Tony Fabian's home in Burnaby
- Interviewer Bio
- Kathy Bossort is a retired archivist living in Ladner, BC. She worked at the Delta Museum and Archives after graduating from SLAIS (UBC) in 2001 with Masters degrees in library science and archival studies. Kathy grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and, prior to this career change, she lived in the West Kootenays, earning her living as a cook for BC tourist lodges and work camps. She continues to be interested in oral histories as a way to fill the gaps in the written record and bring richer meaning to history.
- Collection/Fonds
- Community Heritage Commission Special Projects fonds
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
Audio Tracks
Track two of interview with Tony Fabian
Track two of interview with Tony Fabian
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS196-007/MSS196-007_Track_2.mp3