Front façade
You don’t need mutant powers to visit this awesome castle (but it never hurts)
If this castle looks familiar, that might be because you know it better as Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Children.
Rear of Castle
Hatley Park National Historic Site is located in Colwood, British Columbia in Greater Victoria. It is the site of Hatley Castle, a Classified Federal Heritage Building. Since 1995, the mansion and estate have been used for the public Royal Roads University. From the 1940s-1995, it was used for the Royal Roads Military College, a naval training facility. The extensive grounds of the historic site have formal gardens, former farmland, and trails through mature stands of first and second-growth forest, including large Douglas fir and western red cedar.
Blueprints
In 1906, B.C.’s Lieutenant Governor, James Dunsmuir, who was of Scottish descent, purchased the property. He and his wife Laura commissioned the renowned Canadian architect Samuel Maclure to build a 40-room mansion in the Scottish baronial style; the Tudor revival style was popular in the Edwardian period. The Dunsmuirs created many beautiful formal gardens using the services of renowned American garden designers Franklin Brett and George D. Hall of Boston, Massachusetts. The Dunsmuirs named their estate “Hatley Park,” in the tradition of British and European private estates. The castle became a landmark and was occupied by descendants of the Dunsmuir family until the last years of the Great Depression.
The family sold the property to the Government of Canada in 1939. The government sold off some of the land; during five days in June 1939, “Maynard & Sons” conducted a public auction of 927 lots. In 2008, the 100th anniversary of Hatley Castle was celebrated.
A Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque reads:
“Hatley Park. This superb example of an Edwardian park was laid out for James and Laura Dunsmuir in the early 20th century. At its centre stands a Tudor Revival mansion, whose picturesque design is enhanced by a rich array of decoration and fine craftmanship. The grounds, featuring a variety of native and exotic vegetation, unfold from formal gardens to recreational spaces, farmlands and forests. Acquired by the Canadian armed forces in 1940, Hatley Park evolved to meet the needs of Royal Roads Military College in a manner that has preserved its essential Edwardian character.”
Not only is the castle the setting of the X-Men film series (beginning in 2000) as Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, but also first used for the School in the 1996 made-for-TV X-Men film Generation X. Hatley Castle is shown in the Smallville television series as Luthor Mansion, the estate belonging to Lex Luthor.
Hatley Park Castle
2005 Sooke Rd
Victoria, BC V9B5Y2 CA
On the Web: Royal Roads University
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