ONE OF VICTORIA’S BEST HISTORIC ATTRACTIONS! Discover stories from the city’s past through its architecture. Enter the Villa and immerse yourself in a unique heritage building as you learn about the architects and families who laid the groundwork for the city we know today.
ONE OF VICTORIA’S BEST HISTORIC ATTRACTIONS! Discover stories from the city’s past through its architecture. Enter the Villa and immerse yourself in a unique heritage building as you learn about the architects and families who laid the groundwork for the city we know today.
Wentworth Villa
Attributed to local architects Wright and Sanders, Wentworth Villa is a landmark heritage house in Victoria. With only two families occupying the house from the time it was first built in 1863, relatively little has changed with the structure since that time. Today, the Villa continues to showcase its beautiful Carpenter Gothic elements after extensive restorations that have maintained the architectural details as close to their original state as possible.
Continue to explore our website to learn more about Wentworth Villa and what the museum has to offer, or visit today to see it all first hand!
EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS
Tenth Anniversary Season!
Music At Wentworth Villa
We are excited to announce our 2025/26 season of Music At Wentworth Villa! To celebrate our tenth anniversary, we have an expanded season of 10 concerts! We have a mix of returning artists, and those who are new to Wentworth Villa. This season we have performers coming from Frankfurt, Paris, Barcelona, Toronto, Nova Scotia, and Philadelphia, as well as those who are locally based but internationally renowned. Season Passes are now available for purchase. As in previous seasons, performances are on Sunday afternoons at 2:30 pm.
Knight’s Victoria
Harry Upperton Knight (1873-1973) was one of Victoria’s most celebrated and prolific early twentieth century photographers. From the years following World War One to the transformations of the post-World War Two era, he recorded the city and its inhabitants over a period of almost five decades. Our new feature exhibit focuses on a remarkable selection of his architectural photography depicting some of Victoria’s buildings and the people who lived with them.
Francis Rattenbury
Francis Rattenbury (1867-1935) did more than any other single architect to design the look and feel of Victoria as we know it today. Recognized primarily for his work on the BC Legislature, Empress Hotel, and CPR Steamship terminal buildings which continue define city’s waterfront, this exhibit also considers the more personal side of his life and career. Organized around a scale model of the architect’s own self-designed home in Oak Bay, visitors get a glimpse into his domestic life there which, despite appearances, was far from idyllic. His tempestuous personality, scandalous dealings, and ultimate violent end add a sense of tragedy to the life story of this truly monumental figure.
Garden City
Victoria has a colourful and fascinating architectural history. Richly illustrated with archival photographs and historic artwork, Garden City: Designing Victoria provides an introduction to this history. The exhibit shows how early settlers interacted with the local Songhees First Nations people to establish themselves in the region, and how this eventually led to the globally connected modern city we see today.
Events
Eliot Quartett has become one of the most engaging string quartets of its generation, will perform works by Beethoven and Shostakovich.
Ida Pelliccioli, works by Scarlatti, Mozart, Blasco de Nebra, and Schubert, from an Italo-Croatian concert pianist, based in Paris
Marc Destrubé, violin, Yariv Aloni, viola, Pamela Highbaugh Aloni, cello. Trios by Beethoven, Schubert, and Klein
Arin Sarkissian, flute. Brian Yoon, cello. Monica Pfau, piano – Trios and duos by Goossens, Farrenc, Schumann, and Poulenc