Description
Exterior Details
Government House is a three-story, T-shaped building, with a structural frame of steel-reinforced concrete finished in grey, blue and pink rock-faced British Columbia granite. Dressed stone sills and coping are of local Haddington Island stone. The terraces and balconies are paved with black Jervis Inlet slate.
Interior Details
Entrance Hall
The red carpeted entrance hall is lined with oak paneling and wallpaper, on which are displayed oil portraits of the 27 former Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia, as well as three frames containing the portraits of former Chatelaines. Large Arthur Pan paintings of Her Majesty The Queen and of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh are featured on each side of the granite fireplace. Heraldic coats of arms of members of The Royal Family and of Governors General who have stayed in Government House are mounted below the Rogers Window and along walls of the main staircase.
Ballroom
The Ballroom is the architectural centrepiece of Government House. With 12 metre (40 feet) high ceilings and 27 metres (90 feet) in length, the Ballroom accommodates Government House’s biggest events. Three Swiss crystal chandeliers hang from the centre of the room with crystal sconces decorating the walls. The Millennium Windows, installed in 2006, line both sides of the Ballroom. The balcony at the back of the room features breathtaking views of the Terrace Garden and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This view is reflected in a textile assemblage that hangs over the mirrors on the stage, titled Reflections at Government House, by British Columbian artist Carol Sabiston.
The Ballroom is used for receptions up to 400 people, sit-down dinners of 300, the New Year’s Day Levee, concerts and many more of the over 150 events hosted at Government House each year.
Dining Room
The Dining Room, panelled in fir and modelled after the original Rattenbury-Maclure design, is used to host formal luncheons and dinners from 14 to 40 people. The focal point of the room is the dining room table and chairs, purchased in Scotland by former Lieutenant Governor Frank Mackenzie Ross and his wife, Mrs. Phyllis Ross. The Ross’s donated the table and chairs to the House, along with the Jacobian sideboard also found in the Dining Room.
Drawing Room
In greens, yellows and white, the Drawing Room is a near replica of the one in the Rattenbury-Maclure house. Surmounting the marble fireplace is a scroll bearing the Latin word “Salve,” meaning “hail” or “welcome.” The Drawing Room is used to host small receptions, awards ceremonies and receiving lines.
Little Drawing Room
Across the hall from the Drawing Room is the Little Drawing Room. This room features many furnishings of French origin and is sometimes referred to as the “French Drawing Room.” The Sevres clock and vases are the most noticeable pieces in the room. Former Lieutenant Governor Frank Mackenzie Ross admired them when he first saw them as a boy growing up in Scotland, and took great joy in purchasing them for the House in 1958.
Maclure Room
The Maclure Room is located on the lower floor of Government House and named after Samuel Maclure, one of the architects of the previous Government House. The room is decorated in Arts and Crafts style, a design movement that focused on handcrafted furniture. The room also features a cozy fireplace and copper-foil ceiling. The Maclure Room opens onto a private garden that features a gazebo, called “The Summerhouse,” for use by the Lieutenant Governor. The Maclure Room is used for meetings, informal meals for staff accompanying important visitors to the House and, when necessary, as a press room.
Rattenbury Room
A second dining room, the Rattenbury Room, can be found on the second floor. More intimate than the main Dining Room, the Rattenbury Room is used to host luncheons and dinners of up to 10 people. The centrepiece of the room is the personal dining room set of Francis Rattenbury, architect of the 1903 Government House. The table, chairs and sideboard are on loan to Government House from the Royal British Columbia Museum.
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