The second-oldest farmhouse in Oak Bay could be moving to Metchosin.
Oak Bay council will decide on Monday whether to apply a 60-day temporary protection order on a historic home.
If passed, council would refer the property to the Heritage Commission for review and recommendation.
The current owner of the house at 2072 Hampshire Rd. has applied to build a new house on the 32,000-square foot (.74 acres, or .2 hectares) property. The plan is to move the historic home to Metchosin. The move will require cutting down an undesignated number of trees but would save the house.
READ ALSO: Oak Bay grants 60-days of protection for century-old mansion
The land is listed for sale as vacant land for $3.2 million and described as a development opportunity that could be subdivided into four lots.
Real estate agent Brett Jones said there are potential buyers in place but couldn’t comment further.
The house itself is recessed from the junction where Hampshire Road turns into Musgrave Road, at the T-intersection of Cavendish Avenue.
Much like the situation at 785 Island Road that played out in the fall, the 1880s farmhouse at 2567 Hampshire is not a heritage house but it is noted in the Oak Bay Community Heritage Register. Thusly, Oak Bay staff have prepared the current report for consideration. Council did apply a 60-day protection to the Island Road house but in the end, in a split vote, they did not force heritage registry on the property.
READ ALSO: Oak Bay council split over forcing heritage designation on Island Road home
The property and farmhouse at 2072 Hampshire are noted for their colonial setter heritage. The original cottage is “embedded” within a bigger home, as it underwent subsequent additions. It said to be the oldest surviving farmhouse aside from the Tod House in Oak Bay.
This site is (.74 acres) was once part of the 406 acres of land sold from the Hudson Bay Company to its Chief Factor John Tod.
“According to local knowledge, upon the marriage of his daughter Mary to John Sylvester Bowker, in 1864, Tod gave the couple this land on which stood a hut used by migrant fruit pickers,” says the Oak Bay Community Heritage Register. Some of those fruit trees remain.
B.C. Assessment Authority lists the two-storey house as 2,300 square-feet, with two bedrooms and one bathroom.
Do you have a story tip? Email: vnc.editorial@blackpress.ca.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
