Government House - The Rogers Window

The Rogers Window

History of the Rogers Window

The Government House that was built in 1903 was the first to include a stained glass window. That window was located by the main staircase and included a number of heraldic and native plant designs. The artist and designer was James Blomfield (1872–1951) who, with his brother Charles, pioneered the craft of leaded art glass in British Columbia in the 1890s. This window was destroyed in the 1957 fire which razed Government House. When the present House was built in 1959, space for a window was again constructed by the main staircase but it was filled with ordinary glass.

Former Chatelaine, Mrs. Jane Rogers (1983–1988), learned of this historical omission and, through her vision and initiative, a project was launched to replace the window. However, her thought was to go beyond the original concept. This new stained glass window was to reflect British Columbia’s heritage as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional Monarchy, symbolize the history and role of Government House in the life of the province, and also to recognize the service of the Governors and Lieutenant Governors and their Chatelaines since 1849.

Encouraged and supported by then Lieutenant Governor Robert G. Rogers, the British Columbia Government House Foundation undertook this project. The unveiling and dedication took place on May 2, 1990.

Design Concept

The five heraldic displays are set upon green mounds surrounded by water, alluding to the site of Government House. The mound is strewn with dogwood and violets. Around the base of the Provincial Arms are wild flowers of British Columbia — lupin, rose, ox-eyed daisy, camas, ladyslipper, columbine and buttercup.

Mainland British Columbia, with its forests and mountains, is symbolized by a fesse dancette coloured green behind the red cross. The peaks of its upper edge allude to the mountains, and the mass of fir trees across its surface, the forests. The islands are represented by a stand of three fir trees set upon a mound in water, to the extreme right and left of centre. Each supports a panel containing a collage of historical artifacts acknowledging the forest industry (left), and the native heritage of British Columbia (right).

The edges of the Cross of St. George are decorated with the floral emblems of England, Scotland, Ireland and France, alternating with the Royal Crown of British Columbia.

The tinted white, quarried background antique handmade glass is seeded with golden maple leaves, crowns and dogwoods.

What does each panel mean?

Historical Detail Recorded
1.	Cross of Saint George. Flag first flown over what is now Canadian soil in the latter part of the fifteenth century.
2.	Heraldic device used for British Columbia during the latter part of the nineteenth century.
3.	Badge of The Prince of Wales. Displayed in the ballroom of Cary Castle, Victoria, 1903.
4.	The Royal Lion of British Columbia, supporting a flag recognizing the Province’s British heritage; the floral emblem of England, the Tudor Rose, with the floral emblem of British Columbia, the Pacific Dogwood, against the sun of the British Columbia Flag.
5.	Flag of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.
6.	Standard of The Honourable Robert Gordon Rogers, Lieutenant Governor 1983–1988.
7.	Panel representing the forest industry; a selection of nineteenth century forestry tools.
8.	Great Seal of Vancouver Island and its dependencies: 1849–1866.
9.	Royal Arms of Queen Victoria.
10.	Great Seal of the Colony of British Columbia: 1866–1890s.
11.	The Royal Arms of Queen Elizabeth II.
12.	Arms of Canada: 1957.
13.	Arms of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
14.	Great Seal of British Columbia: 1896–1911.
15.	Great Seal of British Columbia: since 1911.
16.	Panel representing Native Heritage: Salish spindle whorl, Kwakiutl pole, Nootka boat, Chilcotin burden basket, whale, Haida carving, and Haida Copper.
17.	Privy seal of Canada.
18.	Arms of the Dominion of Canada: 1890s. Clockwise, the arms of Québec, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, centre, New Brunswick.
19.	Arms of British Columbia.
20.	Arms of Canada: 1921.
21.	Arms of the Honourable Robert Gordon Rogers, Lieutenant Governor 1983–1988.
22.	Royal Cyphers (monograms) recording the six reigning monarchs since 1849: Queen Victoria, 1837–1901; King Edward VII, 1901–1910; King George V, 1910–1936; Kind Edward VIII, 1936– 1936; King George VI, 1936–1952; Queen Elizabeth II, 1952–
23.	Arms of the City of Victoria.
Representations of:
24.	Governor’s Residence, New Westminster: circa 1860.
25.	Governor’s Residence (Cary Castle), Victoria: 1865.
26.	Governor’s Residence (Cary Castle), Victoria: 1865–1868.
27.	Governor’s Residence (Cary Castle): 1868–1871, and Government House, Victoria: 1871–1899.
28.	Government House, Victoria: 1903–1957.
29.	Government House, Victoria: since 1959.

The Artist

The window was designed and created by Mr. Christopher Wallis of London, Ontario, a graduate of the Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts in England. Mr. Wallis completed a four year apprenticeship in stained glass in the Ecclesiastical Art Studios of Marin Travers and Lawrence Lee in London in 1951. In 1953 he became chief assistant and studio manager in the Lawrence Lee Studio.

Mr. Wallis emigrated to Canada in 1956 and established his own studio in 1959. He has created over 650 ecclesiastical and secular windows in Canada and the United States. Mr. Wallis is one of Canada’s outstanding glass artists among those who apply traditional forms and symbols within a contemporary context.