The Jacob and Margaret Wysong House is a two and one-half storey, wood-frame Arts and Crafts house with a hipped roof and hipped dormers. Symmetrical in massing, it is distinguished by its masonry verandah columns, foundations and chimneys. It is located on a corner lot on Sperling Avenue at Stanle…
The Jacob and Margaret Wysong House is a two and one-half storey, wood-frame Arts and Crafts house with a hipped roof and hipped dormers. Symmetrical in massing, it is distinguished by its masonry verandah columns, foundations and chimneys. It is located on a corner lot on Sperling Avenue at Stanley Street in the Edmonds neighbourhood of South Burnaby.
Heritage Value
The Jacob and Margaret Wysong House is significant for illustrating the early development of the Edmonds neighbourhood, a speculative subdivision that was created and marketed during the pre-First World War real estate boom. The area’s proximity to New Westminster, coupled with extensive views and two newly developed streetcar lines, ensured that Edmonds attracted a wave of suburban development. The scale of this house is atypical of the usual suburban lots, and reflects the prominence of this location and its spectacular views. Set on a large lot, the Jacob and Margaret Wysong House is a grand estate home that is one of the earliest, and most prominent, in South Burnaby.
This is also an exceptional example of Arts and Crafts architecture, displaying the use of native materials that was a hallmark of the style. The first owners were Jacob Wysong and his wife Margaret. Jacob Wysong, a local contractor, constructed the house in 1912. The stonework is exceptional, and the use of rough-cut granite and fieldstone, with overall shingle cladding, recalls the rustic vernacular common in Western park lodges, and evokes a country lifestyle in harmony with nature. The hipped roof was designed with a flat top that acted as a lookout tower that provided views of the surrounding landscape.
Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Jacob and Margaret Wysong House include its:
- prominent corner location in the Edmonds neighbourhood of South Burnaby
- residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its two and one-half storey plus raised basement height, symmetrical plan, hipped roof with flat top, hipped dormers, and hipped roof over the full open front verandah with a central front gable
- masonry elements such as rough-cut granite and fieldstone foundations, verandah columns, stair cheeks, and external and internal chimneys
- wooden-frame construction including original cedar shingling on dormers and facing verandah, shingling on remainder of house under later stucco cladding, and surviving original dimensional trim facing verandah and on dormers
- Arts and Crafts features such as the use of natural materials, open soffits and angled roof overhang
- windows including: double-hung 18-over-1 wooden sash windows; multi-paned casement windows; French doors to verandah; and front door with glazed sidelights
- associated landscape features including surrounding mature trees, hedges and perimeter plantings