Contact Us
Online
Services

Irving House

About

Located in the heart of New Westminster, Irving House is one of the oldest community heritage sites in BC. Built in 1865, this Gothic Revival style colonial home belonged to Captain William Irving and family descendants. 

Over 140 years of memories live within Irving House "…the handsomest, the best and most home-like house of which British Columbia can yet boast..." was how Irving House was described in the British Columbian newspaper in April 1865.

With 14 furnished rooms to enjoy, Irving House is a must-see for everyone interested in New Westminster’s past and anyone interested in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, heritage architecture or colonial BC. 

During your visit you will see ornate ceiling plasterwork, the glow of original wallpaper, original home items, and the elaborate fireplaces.

Tours

House tours are offered during our regular open hours. Please note we cannot accommodate large groups via drop-in and during regular open hours. Please contact us at 604.527.4640 to book a group tour.

Tour Bookings
Duration: 60 mins.
Fee: $170.00

30 participants max.

We are pleased to offer written tours of Irving House in the following languages:


The Irving House script is translated by our wonderful volunteers. Please refer to the volunteer section of our website If you are interested in volunteering your time and skills to translate the script into additional languages. 

Restorations

In early March of 2026, Irving House was once again closed for the next phase of restoration, reopening on March 28th. The restoration work focused on repairs to the ceiling of the large parlour and the plaster chimney breast of the small parlour. The project was complicated by the need to protect the original wallpapers in both rooms. 

Irving House was closed for restoration work from April 2-27, 2018, and reopened on April 28, 2018. The house’s entrance and upper hall were restored to the late Victorian Period, revealing papers not seen since the mid-20th century. 

In 2009, while working with conservator Simone Vogel-Horridge, museum staff found original ca.1897-1903 papers in the entrance and upper hallway of the house — a 3-piece set of consisting of a wallpaper, 18” frieze, and a ceiling paper.  Last year, these stunning papers were meticulously redrawn and colour-matched by Stuart Stark, Heritage Consultant and wallpaper designer, to the original palette used in the house. They were then printed in England and shipped to New Westminster for installation. The hallway cornice work and entrance ceiling medallion will also be painted to match the original colour scheme as a complement to the papers.

This work is part of an ongoing multi-year project to stabilize and restore Irving House to its original appearance at the turn of the 20th century. Since 2011, Irving House has received a new fire and electrical system along with a state of the art geothermal heating and cooling system. The exterior of the house has also been repaired and repainted to match the original ca.1900 colour scheme.  In 2018, Ms. Vogel-Horridge returned to clean and restore the rare and original gilded 1887 wallpapers in the house’s Small Parlour and will be returning this spring to do the same in the Large Parlour. 

Special Projects

The City of New Westminster Public Art Program welcomed Holly Schmidt and Janet Wang to the Irving House Artist in Residence from July to October 2023.

Learn more at newwestcity.ca/publicart 

Artist Talk: Click here to watch on YouTube

  • Contact: 604-527-4640  |  
      |  

    See what's on at Anvil Centre.