Fairacres Steam Plant

The outbuildings at Fairacres are a rare surviving architecturally-designed ensemble of agricultural structures that exist in complementary harmony with the main estate house. Architect Robert Mackay Fripp (1858-1917), an outspoken advocate of Arts and Crafts design, was retained by the Ceperleys to design several original outbuildings on their estate.

The Ceperleys operated Fairacres with staff, a farm manager and workers, including Chinese, to grow produce for themselves and for sale at local markets. The Steam Plant illustrates the market gardening activity of the area around Deer Lake and its importance to the Ceperley family, which valued a year-round supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for the kitchen and flowers for the house. It also illustrates the cultural and aesthetic values of the Ceperleys in retaining an architect to design a functional outbuilding using an accepted and contemporary architectural style. Built in 1907-08, the Steam Plant was significantly altered in the 1960s and restored to its original design in 2000.