The E.W. Bateman House is a one-and-one-half storey wood-frame residence set within in a garden landscape. The house and its adjacent garage are the only historic buildings standing on their original site within the Burnaby Village Museum property.
The E.W. Bateman House is a one-and-one-half storey wood-frame residence set within in a garden landscape. The house and its adjacent garage are the only historic buildings standing on their original site within the Burnaby Village Museum property.
Heritage Value
The E.W. Bateman House was constructed in the Deer Lake Crescent subdivision, that was originally promoted in 1911 as an upper class suburban neighbourhood. It represents one of the first residential developments in the City of Burnaby that required buildings to be of a specific value, thus demonstrating the desire for exclusivity among the successful businessmen who chose to settle in the area.
The house and grounds illustrate the reduced scale of upper-class residential construction at a time of modest returning prosperity that followed the end of the First World War, and the social, cultural, lifestyle and leisure sensibilities of the owners in the Deer Lake Crescent subdivision: such values as social aspiration, racial exclusivity, demonstration of architectural taste, and importance of a landscaped garden.
The heritage value of the E.W. Bateman House is its comprehensive representation of an upper middle-class suburban residence of the early 1920s. It was built for retired CPR executive Edwin Wettenhall Bateman (1859-1957) and his wife, Mary (Dale) Bateman (1865-1935), by contractor William Dodson in 1922. The Bateman House was designed by English-born and trained architect Enoch Evans (1862-1939) of E. Evans and Son, and is an important surviving residential design by Evans, and a typical example of the eclectic Period Revival influences that were common to domestic architecture in the post-First World War era. The symmetry of the imposing front verandah, supported by exaggerated Ionic columns, gives the relatively-modest house an image of grandeur and formality. Named after Edwin Bateman’s birthplace in Cheshire, England, ‘Elworth’ also symbolizes allegiance to England and the patriotic tenor of the time.
The heritage value for this house also lies in its interpretive value within the Burnaby Village Museum. The site is an important cultural feature for the interpretation of Burnaby’s heritage to the public. The E.W. Bateman House was purchased by Burnaby in 1970 and became the focal point for the development of the Museum. Both the interior and exterior of the house have been restored and interpreted to the date of original construction, including recreated room interiors and period furnishings.
Defining Elements
The elements that define the heritage character of the E.W. Bateman House include its:
- rectangular form and massing with central entry on long side
- side gable roof with front shed dormer with cedar shingle cladding
- symmetry of front facade
- full open front verandah inset under the roofline, supported with Ionic columns
- cedar shingle siding
- multi-paned double-hung wooden-sash windows, mixture of 6-over-1 and 8-over-1
- symmetrical disposition of fenestration, with double-assembly units on the ground floor
- exterior shutters
- two flanking brick chimneys on the side elevations
- interior room layouts and original interior features such as quality millwork and original hardware
- original garage at the rear of the house
This house is one of two surviving houses built as a “Model Home” for the manager of the Barnet Lumber Company, which was the successor to the North Pacific Lumber Company. It was used as a combined home and office. It was constructed with framing lumber and millwork sawn at the mill. Typical of the Craftsman style, the house has a front gabled roof with triangular eave brackets. It has been altered with the addition of asbestos shingles over the original siding, but retains its form, scale and massing.
This house was designed by the firm of Townley & Matheson. The partnership of Fred Laughton Townley (1887-1966) and Robert Michael Matheson began in 1919, and the firm left a rich legacy of sophisticated work, including schools, commercial structures, many fine residences and the landmark Vancouver City Hall.
This house is one of two surviving houses built as a “Model Home” for one of the assistant managers of the Barnet Lumber Company, using framing lumber and millwork sawn at the mill. This house was also designed by the firm of Townley & Matheson. The house was raised and renovated in 1997, resulting in alterations such as new dormers and elongated porch piers.
This school was originally designed by Bowman & Cullerne as a two-storey, four-room school building in 1923, with a two-room addition completed in 1926 and another in 1927. Originally designed in the Arts and Crafts style, it has been altered, with the addition of stucco over the original siding and replacement windows, but has retained its original form and massing, as well as its roof-top ventilator and front gabled entrance with grouped columns. Bowman & Cullerne specialized in school design. After Harold Cullerne (1890-1976) returned from service during the First World War, he joined J.H. Bowman (1864-1943) in a partnership that lasted from 1919 to 1934. The firm’s other school designs included Seaforth School (1922, now relocated to Burnaby Village Museum), Burnaby North High School (1923), and Nelson Avenue School (1927).
The Douglas Road School was originally established as a two-room school in 1908 on this site, and later expanded to four classrooms. Anticipating rapid settlement of this district, the School Board purchased two acres adjoining the old building. Two of the four rooms were designed to become one large auditorium suitable for special events and public gatherings, with seating for two hundred people. The classically-influenced school has been altered with new windows and extended with additional wings, but has retained its original red-brick veneer, tan-brick quoins and bellcast octagonal roof ventilator. Designed by McCarter & Nairne, the school was built by contractor A.S. Perry. McCarter & Nairne, who also designed the Second Street School, were the Burnaby School Board architects at this time. John Y. McCarter (1886-1981) and George Nairne (1884-1953) formed their partnership in 1921 after serving overseas during the First World War. The partners began designing houses and small apartment buildings, and their commissions included Vancouver’s first skyscraper, the Marine Building (1928-30).
Annotation on recto of postcard reads: "'THE OASIS, SUBURBAN CAFE / A place of Refinement and Good Food. - On the Highway between New Westminster and Vancouver"
Typed on verso of postcard reads: " Vancouver, B.C. / Dear ___________/ We just had Chicken Dinner at "The Oasis" Suburban Cafe, and I must say it was a real treat, everything was so tasty. If ever you motor up to Vancouver be sure and stop there. It is right on the Pacific Highway at 2675 Kingsway East, about three miles from New Westminster, and 20 minutes run from the Hotel Vancouver."
Aerial photographic postcard of Barnet Lumber Company's Mill. The handwritten caption on the lower left corner of the postcard reads: "Aeroplane view of the Barnet Lumber Co. Ltd./ Barnet BC." The handwritten caption on the lower right corner reads: "Copyright 1927/ Pacific Airway Ltd./ Vancouver …
Aerial photographic postcard of Barnet Lumber Company's Mill. The handwritten caption on the lower left corner of the postcard reads: "Aeroplane view of the Barnet Lumber Co. Ltd./ Barnet BC." The handwritten caption on the lower right corner reads: "Copyright 1927/ Pacific Airway Ltd./ Vancouver B.C.".
Photographic postcard of the Central Park auto tourist grounds. Two unidentified men can be seen standing in front of a car which is parked next to the campground building. In the background, a clothesline has been strung holding towels and blankets.
Photographic postcard of the Central Park auto tourist grounds. Two unidentified men can be seen standing in front of a car which is parked next to the campground building. In the background, a clothesline has been strung holding towels and blankets.
9 paintings : colour print, 2 photographs : b&w, and 1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of application for a driver's license, Kingsway Driving School report card, driver's examination receipt and a letter addressed to Hazel Simnett from the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada. Also included is an immigration inspection card of Fred Simnett aboard the S.S. Lake Champlai…
9 paintings : colour print, 2 photographs : b&w, and 1 folder of textual records
Description Level
File
Record No.
MSS167-008
Accession Number
2013-22
Scope and Content
File consists of application for a driver's license, Kingsway Driving School report card, driver's examination receipt and a letter addressed to Hazel Simnett from the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada. Also included is an immigration inspection card of Fred Simnett aboard the S.S. Lake Champlain from Liverpool and a letter from the Office of the Mayor addressed to Mary Ann Simnett for her ninetieth birthday. Also included is a photograph (see item 559-001). Also included are newsclippings regarding Robert Burnaby and the "Bygones of Burnaby" book, a programme of the Robert Burnaby Commemorative Dinner, a photocopy of "The Argus" (Burnaby South High School's newspaper) from 1938, a programme from Madys Pridmore Brown's Variety Programme, "The Buzzer" Volume 40 Issue 16 advertising Vancouver street cars, New Vista Society certificate addressed to Hazel Simnett, an envelope of Fenwick Lansdowne bird prints from 1957 and a print of the Royal Family found in a cardboard envelope postmarked 1972.
Photographic postcard of the exterior of the Stride family home located at Kingsway and 18th Avenue. Two people are traveling in a Model T Ford (with the top down) along the street in front of the house.
Photographic postcard of the exterior of the Stride family home located at Kingsway and 18th Avenue. Two people are traveling in a Model T Ford (with the top down) along the street in front of the house.
Photograph of Burnaby's Agricultural Exhibit at New Westminster. Tables with fruit, vegetables and flowers are displayed. Greenery and photographs (mainly of people) are on the walls, including a portrait of former Reeve Nicolai C. Schou (second portrait from right). A sign in the corner reads, …
Photograph of Burnaby's Agricultural Exhibit at New Westminster. Tables with fruit, vegetables and flowers are displayed. Greenery and photographs (mainly of people) are on the walls, including a portrait of former Reeve Nicolai C. Schou (second portrait from right). A sign in the corner reads, "Burnaby's Exhibit," and a mural hangs on the walls above the exhibit. A woman and man are standing behind a table at the back left.
Photograph of Burnaby's Agricultural Exhibit at New Westminster. Fruits, vegetables and flowers are displayed on tables. Greenery and photographs (mainly of people) are on the walls, including a portrait of former Reeve Nicolai C. Schou (second portrait from right). A sign in the corner reads, "…
Photograph of Burnaby's Agricultural Exhibit at New Westminster. Fruits, vegetables and flowers are displayed on tables. Greenery and photographs (mainly of people) are on the walls, including a portrait of former Reeve Nicolai C. Schou (second portrait from right). A sign in the corner reads, "Burnaby's Exhibit," and a mural hangs on the walls above the exhibit. Two men are standing behind a table in the centre.
This portion of the interview is about how Al Nixon began collecting and saving photographs, records and stories about the history of the Burnaby Fire Department in the mid 1980's. Finding the first scrapbook of photographs lead to other discoveries that placed the beginning of the Burnaby Fire Dep…
This portion of the interview is about how Al Nixon began collecting and saving photographs, records and stories about the history of the Burnaby Fire Department in the mid 1980's. Finding the first scrapbook of photographs lead to other discoveries that placed the beginning of the Burnaby Fire Department in 1911.
Recording is of an interview with Al Nixon, conducted by Rod Fowler. Al Nixon was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about the history and operations of the Burnaby Fire Department from its beginning in 1911 to 1990, and Al Nixon’s stories about the various ways photographs, records and artifacts about the department were collected and saved. The interview takes place while looking at photographs, but the information is clear nonetheless (His photographs have been deposited in the Burnaby Archives). Al Nixon also talks about his father's career as a firefighter, and about his Douglas grandparents and their home “The Gables” [Seven Gables] and neighbourhood in Burquitlam. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
Biographical Notes
Al Nixon was born in New Westminster Feb. 8, 1936, the son of Provincial Fire Marshal Basil Nixon (1904-1975) and Agnes Douglas (1909-?). His mother’s family immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1922 and lived in a large ca. 1900 home in Burquitlam at 9957 Sullivan Road called “Seven Gables” (recently demolished). His grandfather Thomas Douglas, a Coquitlam Councillor and Socialist, was murdered in 1934 in his North Road service station. Al Nixon began his career as a firefighter with the Burnaby Fire Department in 1957, eventually becoming Deputy Fire Chief Operations in 1987 and Fire Chief in 1991, before retiring in 1993. In the mid 1980's Al Nixon became interested in the department’s history after finding a photograph scrapbook at one of the firehalls. It was in very bad condition but he recognized its value and began a project to collect and save photographs, artifacts and stories about the Burnaby Fire Department, a 6 month project that turned into years. The photographs and information gathered by Al Nixon became part of Douglas Penn’s book “Follow that Fire: the history of the Burnaby Fire Department”.
Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Photograph of the entrance to Oasis Tourist Camp, which is marked by a large sign put up with two posts on either side of the sign . It reads, "Tea Gardens / The Oasis / 'Rest and Refresh' / Free Tourist Camp." Further along the driveway is a smaller sign that reads: "'Welcome.' Drive In." To the…
Photograph of the entrance to Oasis Tourist Camp, which is marked by a large sign put up with two posts on either side of the sign . It reads, "Tea Gardens / The Oasis / 'Rest and Refresh' / Free Tourist Camp." Further along the driveway is a smaller sign that reads: "'Welcome.' Drive In." To the left of the entrance is a modified house building with a sign advertising for Fraser Valley ice cream placed outside the extended patio. The Oasis Tourist Camp was located at 2675 Kingsway (after 1959 address became 6105 Kingsway) in Burnaby and was owned and operated by the Raymer family.
1 photograph : b&w ; 8 x 12.9 cm on page 17.5 x 24.5 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of the hot dog stand built at Deer Lake for ice skaters. Standing in front of it are the "proprietors" A. D. Bowker and Abe Rowe. The sign affixed to the stand reads: "This Is The Hot Dog Inn And It's Cold Outside / Come Right In / Coffee 5 cents / Hot Dogs 10 cents".
1 photograph : b&w ; 8 x 12.9 cm on page 17.5 x 24.5 cm
Description Level
Item
Record No.
020-018
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No known restrictions
Accession Number
BHS2007-04
Scope and Content
Photograph of the hot dog stand built at Deer Lake for ice skaters. Standing in front of it are the "proprietors" A. D. Bowker and Abe Rowe. The sign affixed to the stand reads: "This Is The Hot Dog Inn And It's Cold Outside / Come Right In / Coffee 5 cents / Hot Dogs 10 cents".
Photograph of The Oasis restaurant, store, and night club (with dance floor), formerly The Oasis tea room. The Oasis was located at 2675 Kingsway (Pacific Highway). It was later renumbered 6105 Kingsway.
Photograph of The Oasis restaurant, store, and night club (with dance floor), formerly The Oasis tea room. The Oasis was located at 2675 Kingsway (Pacific Highway). It was later renumbered 6105 Kingsway.
Photograph of the Oasis tea garden and tourist camp at 2675 Kingsway (Pacific Highway). It was later renumbered 6105 Kingsway. Guests could pitch tents for free at the campground and patronize the tea garden. The complex was operated by the Raymer family.
Photograph of the Oasis tea garden and tourist camp at 2675 Kingsway (Pacific Highway). It was later renumbered 6105 Kingsway. Guests could pitch tents for free at the campground and patronize the tea garden. The complex was operated by the Raymer family.
Photograph of Catherine Mary Corner (later becoming Mrs. Levins), as a baby. She is wearing a white smock, socks and strapped shoes. Her mother was Edna Bateman Corner, eldest daughter of Edwin W. Bateman, the builder of the Elworth house at the Burnaby Village Museum.
Photograph of Catherine Mary Corner (later becoming Mrs. Levins), as a baby. She is wearing a white smock, socks and strapped shoes. Her mother was Edna Bateman Corner, eldest daughter of Edwin W. Bateman, the builder of the Elworth house at the Burnaby Village Museum.
Photograph of the cast of The Magic Cup, an operetta performed by Edmonds School students taken in the Public Hall on the Municipal Hall grounds at 7252 Kingsway. The 5 "pages" in the front row centre are; Allan McPhee, Harold Smith, Pat Custance, Ted Fennd, Dugald Patterson. Una Patience is in the…
Photograph of the cast of The Magic Cup, an operetta performed by Edmonds School students taken in the Public Hall on the Municipal Hall grounds at 7252 Kingsway. The 5 "pages" in the front row centre are; Allan McPhee, Harold Smith, Pat Custance, Ted Fennd, Dugald Patterson. Una Patience is in the chorus. The cast practised in the "bungalow building" on school grounds.