NWHPS

Irving House Museum (1865)

Photo: Paul Fuoco

Still standing on its original site, Irving House is the oldest intact house in the Lower Mainland.  

Irving House demonstrates mixed Gothic features that were popular in the mid-1800s. These features are rare in BC due to the low number of buildings that have survived from this period.  Three generations of the Irving family and their descendants lived in this 14-room, 4,700 sq ft house designed by T.W. Graham, and changed it to suit their taste and the trends of the day.

Irving House Museum New Westminster Master Bedroom – photo by Vancouver Professional Photographer Andrew Willis
Irving House Museum New Westminster principal bedroom – photo by Vancouver Professional Photographer Andrew Willis
Irving House – photo by Vancouver Professional Photographer Andrew Willis for City of New Westminster

In 2009-2010, a restorative study was conducted to preserve and restore the house without diminishing its heritage value. The team concluded that the most authentic date to accurately restore the house would be 1897-1903.

Following six years of work to stabilize its infrastructure, phase one of interior restoration was completed in 2017-2018. Among the restorations, original 1887 metallic gold wallpapers in the parlours were painstakingly cleaned; removing over 130 years of soot and coal dust. The stunning hallway papers were redrawn and colour-matched to the original palate. Current stabilization work is now underway in the small parlour.

The Heritage and Public Art teams welcomed Holly Schmidt and Janet Wang as Artists in Residence in 2023.  The artists investigated one of BC’s oldest post-contact historic sites to deepen a shared understanding of current purpose. Check out the gardens and old museum out back to see their artistic responses!  

Article by: New Westminster Museum and Archives staff

Presented by:  New Westminster Museum and Archives