Clovelly, 701 Sea Terrace, Victoria, B.C.

Clovelly, 701 Sea Terrace, Victoria, B.C.

Clovelly, 701 Sea Terrace, Victoria, B.C., was the home of Sir Frank Stillman Barnard

The house was designed by architect Samuel Maclure.

Clovelly comes into Butchart Gardens History for two primary reasons: its owner, Sir Frank Stillman Barnard, was a friend and business associate of Robert Butchart; and Clovelly was the site of the first Japanese garden designed by Isaburo Kishida for a private client in Victoria.

It is likely that Sir Frank Stillman Barnard or his wife recommended Isaburo Kishida to Jennie Butchart, who hired Isaburo Kishida, circa 1910, to design what is now the Japanese Garden at Butchart Gardens.

Unfortunately, Clovelly was demolished by the B.C. Provincial givernment in 1960. In 1974 the City of Victoria turned the property into Barnard Park. Isaburo Kishida’s Japanese garden did not survive the 1960 demolition.

Here are links to some historic photographs of Clovelly:

Here is a map showing the location of Barnard Park, where Clovelly stood until 1960:

Here is a Google Street View image of Barnard Park, which is now on the site where Clovelly stood. The tennis courts in this image are on the approximate site of Sir Frank Barnard’s house:

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of our Butchart Gardens History:

“…..The exact chronology of Kishida’s subsequent work in Victoria is uncertain, but it appears that after completing the Japanese Tea Garden at Gorge Park, he was hired by Frank S. Barnard (1856-1936, later Sir Frank S. Barnard), a politician, businessman, a Director of the B.C. Electric Railway Company and a good friend of the Butcharts, to lay out a Japanese garden at Barnard’s West Bay waterfront estate, Clovelly, off Esquimalt Road at 701 Sea Terrace

Unfortunately nothing remains of Isaburo Kishida’s work at Clovelly or, for that matter, of Clovelly itself.  Sir Frank Barnard’s former estate was acquired in 1960 by the B.C. provincial government, which promptly demolished Barnard’s house and then did nothing with the site.

In 1974, the City of Victoria acquired the site and turned it into a city park, named Barnard Park after Sir Frank Barnard. Barnard Park’s tennis courts are now on the site where Sir Frank Barnard’s house once stood. The present day Barnard Avenue, leading south off Esquimalt Road, was originally the driveway to Sir Frank Barnard’s Clovelly estate.

Clovelly’s demolition is unfortunate for a variety of reasons, including the fact that its gardens were long considered to be among Victoria’s best. As late as 1931, Sir Frank Barnard’s property was one of four local gardens included on a special tour of Victoria gardens for members of the Garden Club of America attending a convention at the Empress Hotel. The other three gardens were the grounds of Frederick W. Pemberton’s residence at 601 Foul Bay Road (which, unfortunately, no longer exists), the Government House gardens on Rockland Avenue (which are still spectacular) and, of course, the Butchart Gardens…..”

Would you like to leave a comment or question about anything on this page?