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Ceperley home When the Ceperley's lived in the mansion from 1910 to 1919, the architecture of the building was quite impressive with its attention to details in the fireplace, doorways, windows, and light fixtures. Originally the home was a three-storey gabled structure, built primarily of stucco and stone, and finished with Tudor timbering (Winifred Denny. The Story of A House: Ceperley Mansion to Burnaby Art Gallery. Chapter III) . The mansion was built to have some characteristics of an English home with the added touch of the West Coast.

front door

The Ceperley Mansion was designed to have a stately appearance. At the entrance of the house, a flight of double stairs lead to a raised porch that led to the main doorway of the house. The grand arched doorway, made of solid oak, greeted guests warmly.

The main level of the house consisted of a number of rooms, as the living quarters were located only on the second floor. When first entering the building, to the right of the entrance was the main staircase and a hallway that led to the kitchen, butler's pantry, and servants' hall. And to the left was a small study and vestibule. The other rooms on this level included the billiard's room, dining room, and drawing room.

fireplaceThe billiard's room was the area where guests were received. Along the mantle of the fireplace read,

"The ornament of a house are the friends who frequent it"
(Winifred Denny. The Story of A House: Ceperley Mansion to Burnaby Art Gallery. Chapter III) . A feeling of warmth and friendliness was also projected in the golden oak paneling of the room. Beyond the main entrance of the house, on the first level, large double doors opened onto the drawing room. The main focus of the room was on the two crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and the fireplace at the end of the room.

The fireplace was designed in the Edwardian style. It was made entirely of ceramic tile that was imported from Europe. Dutch and Belgium made tiles were used in the dining room and bedrooms (Winifred Denny. The Story of A House: Ceperley Mansion to Burnaby Art Gallery. Chapter III) . From the drawing room, French doors opened onto the cobblestoned verandah outside. Dividing the dining room from the drawing room were heavy wooden sliding doors. Glass cabinets lined the walls of room. These cabinets remained in the mansion until 1967, when it was removed by the Burnaby Art Gallery.

An important feature of the house was the little tower that was off the dining room. This area was specifically made on the request of Mrs. Ceperley to house her tropical and domestic bird collection. The walls of the tower were made of glass and from the tower, there was a door leading to an outside garden. Even though the architect persisted that the tower did not fit the scheme of the house, the tower was still built for Mrs. Ceperley's aviary (Winifred Denny. The Story of A House: Ceperley Mansion to Burnaby Art Gallery. Chapter III)

Gardens A grand oak staircase lead the way to the second floor. The most magnificent aspect of the staircase was that a wall of stained glass followed the arms of the stairs, gracing the wood with sunlight. The second floor contained the bedrooms. There was the master wing which consisted of the bedroom, sitting room, dressing room, and bathroom. In addition, there was a guest room and bath facilities. At the end of the upper hallway, a door opened to the back stairs, leading to the servants' quarters on the third floor. The staff's living area was simple and did not have same grandeur as the rest of the house. Other buildings on the estate include greenhouses, stables, hothouses, and two gardener's cottages.

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Last updated 31 August 1998.
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