Mary Spencer Residence

The primary heritage value of the Mary Spencer Residence lies in its association with the development and settlement of North Saanich in the early twentieth century as a result of improved rail transportation. The inauguration of the British Columbia Electric Railway's (BCER) Saanich Interurban line between Victoria and Deep Cove in 1913, and a second nearby rail line constructed by the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway in 1915, resulted in a population increase in rural areas of the Saanich Peninsula, as evidenced by the construction of country homes like this one, with its associated garden and ornamental plum trees. The first owner of the house was Mary Spencer, a widowed and retired housewife. With the advent of the automobile and bus transportation, the Saanich Interurban line became redundant, but by the time operations ceased in 1924 the residential population base was firmly established in North Saanich.

The Mary Spencer Residence is also significant for its origins as an innovative prefabricated structure commonly known as a ‘kit house'. Sold by catalogue during the early twentieth century, ‘kit houses' were popular because of their relatively low cost, modest size and easy assembly. The ‘kit house' included a blueprint, as well as all necessary items including precisely cut and marked lumber, paint, varnishes, nails, interior millwork, lath, shingles, roofing and windows. This type of ready-made architecture could be shipped by rail and was well suited to rural areas like North Saanich because it did not require an experienced building contractor for assembly. The Mary Spencer Residence is a small Foursquare design, a more modest version of the type of Edwardian-era architecture that could be found in larger city centres throughout British Columbia.