302 Royal Avenue
Irving House Museum and Historic Centre (1864)
Carpenter Gothic Revival Style

Irving House was completed in 1865 by the Royal Engineers for William Irving, a Scottish-born deep sea captain who arrived in New Westminster in 1859. Captain Irving pioneered the steamboat river trading industry of the Lower Fraser Valley in the late 1800's. The holly bushes in the yard were probably planted by the Irving family as the Scottish Irving clan's coat of arms was an armoured fist clasping a sprig of holly. Irving House was designated in 1981; the first structure in New Westminster to receive municipal heritage status.

Irving House reflects the Carpenter Gothic Revival style of architecture. Exterior elements include a steeply sloped cross-gabled roofline, scroll-sawn barge boards, palladian windows, finials and green clapboard exterior. The interior of the house features wallpaper imported from Europe as well as period furniture and mementoes of the Irving pioneer family. Irving House is currently operated by the City of New Westminster as the civic museum and archives.

City Directory Entries - 1925 to 1975

1925: Briggs, Manuela mus tchr r 302 Royal Ave.
1935: Briggs, Manuella O r 302 Royal
1945: Briggs, Manuela r 302 Royal
1945: Briggs, Naomi S h 302 Royal
1955: BC Historic Centre
1965: Irving House Historic Centre
1965: Walker, Albt E (Florence M) curator Irving House N Westr City h 302 Royal
1975: Irving House Historic Centre
1975: Miller, Archie curator Irving Hse Historic Centre h 302 Royal

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