Royal Roads manager of gardens Dave Rutherford (left) and Dennett Bryson from the Fisher Foundation cut the ribbon to officially open the restored greenhouse on the campus of Royal Roads University Tuesday.
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By Andrew Topf
News staff
May 04 2007
$750,000 restoration of greenhouse at Royal Roads earns two heritage awards
Royal Roads University has a newly-restored greenhouse thanks to a $750,000 donation from the Fisher Foundation.
The vintage greenhouse, which dates back to 1914, was officially unveiled Tuesday afternoon at Hatley Park, the site of former B.C. premier James Dunsmuir’s estate.
"We’re grateful for the help they gave us in helping to demonstrate the integrity and history of this place," RRU president Dr. Alan Cahoon said in thanking the Fisher Foundation, named after the late Ralph and Grace Fisher, who founded Crestwood Farms greenhouses in Richmond.
Grace Fisher’s brother, Dennett Bryson, cut the ribbon to officially open the greenhouse alongside RRU gardens manager Dave Rutherford.
Rutherford said the restoration, by Victoria-based Vintage Woodworks, involved removing, restoring, and replacing each pane of glass and wood — a labour-intensive process that took 13 months to complete.
A report in 2002 by the Heritage Society of British Columbia, commissioned by RRU, indicated that while the greenhouse’s significance was on par with Hatley Castle, if stabilization wasn’t undertaken, it may pass to the point of no return.
“It was losing all its glass and the metalwork was rusted out,” said Rutherford, who noted 90 per cent of the original greenhouse structure, including cypress wood imported for its capacity to retain moisture without rotting, was retained.
The original pipes, which had been out of use since the 1930s, were kept in when a new hot water heating system was installed.
The restoration caught the attention of the Hallmark Society, a Victoria-based non-profit that advocates for heritage preservation, which presented its Award of Merit to Royal Roads and Vintage Woodworks later that evening.
RRU and Vintage Woodworks will also receive an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Heritage Society of B.C. for the greenhouse project, to be presented June 1 in North Vancouver.
Hallmark Society president Dr. Nick Russell said what impressed him about the restoration was the “fierce attention to detail and authenticity,” noting short cuts could have been taken but weren’t.
“It is a wonderful restoration,” he said. “My compliments to Royal Roads for taking it on, my congratulations to Vintage for doing a remarkable job, and to the Fisher Foundation for enabling all this.”
Rutherford said the university plans to stock the greenhouse with flowers, plants and fruits originally grown there near the turn of the century, adding the eventual goal is to turn it into a model for sustainable growing practices.
The greenhouse is expected to open to the public next summer to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Hatley Park.
“It should be good for at least another 100 years,” Rutherford said.
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