The value of ‘Kingsmount’ is associated with its architects, D.C. Frame and Samuel Maclure. Built between 1910 and 1911, Kingsmount was designed by David Cowper Frame (1882-1960) for civil engineer George Leask. D.C. Frame was a versatile designer whose career spanned the decline of traditional architecture and the rise of Modernism. He apprenticed under Victoria-based architect F.M. Rattenbury, architect of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings, between 1905 and 1908. This placement put Frame in a position to expand his social and professional network, garnering him a number of residential and commercial commissions for some of which he partnered with prominent local architects. His work was eclectic and varied; but Frame established himself in the Arts and Crafts genre that he employed at Kingsmount. Samuel Maclure (1860-1929) was commissioned to design a new wing between 1925-1928 for the French Count Jean de Suzannet and his family that included a new drawing room, two bedrooms and an additional wraparound stairway in matching granite. A native British Columbian, Maclure’s name is virtually synonymous with the predominantly British Arts and Crafts style of the domestic architecture he designed for prominent businessmen on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. He gained international recognition during his forty-year career, with close to five hundred commissions. Many of Maclure’s buildings with their beautiful and functional interiors have been recognized as masterworks and are considered part of the cultural heritage of British Columbia.

‘Kingsmount’ is valued as a very fine example of British Arts and Crafts in its principled use of honest materials such as the use of random rubble stone in this rocky location, high standard of craftsmanship and siting. The common living areas were situated at the back of the house for full command of the spectacular views towards Mount Baker across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The rooms retain their original configuration and in many instances, their original use such as the linen room, nursery and music room.

Considered an architectural landmark that completes the vista along Denison Road, ‘Kingsmount’ is a significant component of the Gonzales Hill neighbourhood.