Main Building
After the original campus was lost to fire on December 16, 1926, the Founder, C.W. Lonsdale, wasted no time in making plans to rebuild. Within a week he had hired Architect Douglas James to draw up plans for a new school building. This was Lonsdale's chance to build a beautiful new purpose-built School with everything under one roof.
In January, Forms 5 & 6 (Grades 11 & 12) returned to campus, sleeping in "Hill House" (the former Ravenhill home), but the junior boys were temporarily relocated at the vacant Cadboro Bay Hotel in Victoria. The boys on campus attended classes in the mornings, taught by P.T. Skrimshire and E.D.W. Levien, while in the afternoons, they helped with construction on the new building.
The new basement plan contained changing rooms, a drying room, and a physics lab. The ground floor included classrooms, the Big School meeting room, kitchen, dining room, a surgery (nurse's room), library, and offices. On the second floor were dormitories and washrooms, masters' bedrooms, and a sick bay. The top floor contained attic storage, more dormitory rooms, and washrooms. Capacity was for 150 boarders. Of course, fire hydrants, hoses, and a fire alarm system were installed.
Because getting the junior boys back on campus was a priority, construction started on the west wing where the dormitories were located. By May 13, 1927, all the junior boys were able to move into the new school, leaving their temporary quarters where they had been housed and schooled following the fire.
At this point a House system was established. The first two Heads of House were Alec Ripley (Head Boy 1926-27) and Harry Lake (Head Boy 1927-28). All the boys were lined up and Ripley and Lake took turns choosing boys for each of their Houses. By September the third floor was complete and a third House was formed, named after Jim Groves (Head Boy 1925-26).
The new school building was fully completed by September 1927, and Lonsdale was pleased: "The result of the past few months' work has given us a more suitable and more attractive building than the old one. We have greater comfort and even luxury.”
Starting in 2013 the Main Building underwent a two-year restoration project. Work was done on one half of the building at a time with every single department being moved at least once to accommodate the different stages of the construction. The building was given a new foundation, a fortified frame, fresh stucco, and new windows. It was completed in 2015, ready for the centenary celebrations in 2016. From the exterior, the iconic building looks just as it did in 1927.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
