Honouring the Past
Constructed in 1910, the existing manor was designed by famed Canadian architect, Samuel Maclure.
Maclure worked as an architect in British Columbia, Canada, from 1890 to 1920. He was born on April 2, 1860 in Sapperton, New Westminster, to John and Martha Maclure. He studied painting at the Spring Garden Institute in Philadelphia from 1884 to 1885, and he was a self-taught architect.
GMC has leveraged our extensive experience in restoring homes with heritage values and preserved the existing manor currently containing five high quality multi-family rental homes.
Every building has a story
Tracksell Manor is 2½-storeys with a hipped roof. This building has open eaves with exposed raftertails. Archival drawings demonstrate that the original design intention was for a shingle and half-timbering combination, but it was instead built with a mixture of stucco and stonework at the ground level. The stonework is notable as it is an unusual rubble fieldstone with irregular granite block quoins.
Now mostly concealed from the street, the manor still retains a significant area of its original grounds. The south façade has two box bays on the lower level and balustraded porches on the upper, with a central two-storey angled bay superimposed on a box bay. The west façade has a slightly projecting half-timbered upper storey over a stone-clad lower storey with four shallow buttresses. There is a hipped dormer on the north façade, a cantilevered box bay at left centre and a two-storey porch with a balustraded upper level to the right. Many of the windows are 6-over-1 double-hung sashes with horns.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
The house was built for Edwin M. and Bertha Tracksell, who lived here until 1916 or 1917. Edwin was a partner in Tracksell, Douglas & Co, real estate. The second occupant was J.E. McClellan, who lived here 1917-18.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
The Hon. John Wallace DeBeque Farris (1878-1970) lived here with his wife, Evlyn Fenwick Keirstead (1878-1971) and their children from 1919-23. They previously lived at the Union Club on Gordon St. Farris was born in New Brunswick to a political family, and was educated in law at Acadia University and the University of Pennsylvania. He was called to the Bar in 1902 in Saint John, NB, but decided to come to Vancouver in 1903 to become a city prosecutor. However, he also gained notoriety by representing many of the labour unions. Farris was a Liberal MLA for Vancouver from 1916-24, and from 1918-21 he was BC Attorney-General and Minister of Labour. Farris resigned in 1922 to return to private practice. He was appointed Senator in 1937, and that year was also elected president of the Canadian Bar Association.
Farris met Evlyn at Acadia University, and after graduation in 1899, she taught history in Connecticut, while Farris went to the University of Pennsylvania. They married in Wolfeville, NS, in 1905. Evlyn founded the University Women’s Club of Vancouver in 1907, and was president for three years. She was made an honorary life member in 1922. She was a member of the senate and board of governors at the University of British Columbia (UBC) for 30 years, and was among the first women in the country to hold these positions. In 1933, Evlyn received an honorary doctorate from Acadia University, and nine years later received the same degree from UBC for her work in post-secondary education.
Car salesman Harry W. Dunn lived here 1924-25, followed by the Hon. Dr. William H. Sutherland from 1926-28. He was the Liberal MLA for Revelstoke from 1916-37 and Minister of Public Works and Railways from 1924-28.
The Irving family bought this house in 1929 and lived here until 1947. Retired Lieut-Col. Lennox Irving (1863-1938) was a barrister and WWI veteran born in Pembroke, ON and educated at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. He was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1900 and practised for a number of years. He began his military career in 1883 when he joined the 42nd Regiment, and in 1901 attained the rank of Lieut-Col. He retired in 1908, but returned to service in 1917 when he was appointed second in command to the 240th Battalion, CEF. He retired to Victoria with his wife, Grace Barnett (1885-1985).
Owners H. Malcolm and Mary E. McKay lived here from 1948-50. McKay was president of the boat-building company McKay-Cormack Ltd. Charles A. and Elizabeth Banks lived in the house from 1951-53.