Uplands Real Estate in Oak Bay
In the 1800s, the Hudson’s Bay Company controlled what was once the 465-acre Uplands Farm until its sale and development at the turn of the 20th century into the large-lot subdivision of luxury homes it is today. For those interested in the history of this development, Larry McCann’s book Imagining Uplands is well worth reading.
The Uplands remains one of the most exclusive residential areas in Greater Victoria. Properties here are typically defined by large lots, broad landscaped streets, privacy, mature gardens, and substantial detached homes. Many buyers are drawn by the combination of estate-style living, proximity to the ocean, access to Uplands Golf Club, and the neighbourhood’s long-standing architectural and planning controls.
Prestigious Estate Living
The Uplands is home to some of Greater Victoria’s most substantial estate properties, with mature landscaping, large lots, and a level of privacy rarely found elsewhere in Oak Bay.
Waterfront and Ocean Access
Select Uplands properties occupy exceptional coastal positions near Beach Drive, Cattle Point, the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, and the sheltered waters of Cadboro Bay.
Architectural Variety
Homes in The Uplands range from Tudor revival estates and classic character residences to renovated mid-century homes and contemporary luxury properties.
The Uplands Neighbourhood Map
The Uplands sits in northeast Oak Bay, bordered by Uplands Park, Uplands Golf Club, Cattle Point, Cadboro Bay, Beach Drive, and some of the most prestigious residential streets in Greater Victoria.
- Close to Uplands Golf Club and Uplands Park
- Minutes to Cadboro Bay Village and the University of Victoria
- Near Cattle Point, Beach Drive, and the Royal Victoria Yacht Club
- Large lots, mature landscaping, and quiet residential streets
Riffington Manor and Historic Uplands Estates
One of the most famous residences in The Uplands is Riffington Manor, originally built for Andrew Wright, one of the original investors in the Uplands project in the early 1900s. It is owned today by media magnate David Black. When first built, it featured a Japanese garden, a cottage, and a modern glassed cabana by the seafront swimming pool. The billiard room is now a library, and the conservatory has been turned into sundecking, but there have been no major structural changes.
Riffington’s 10 fireplaces have been retained, and the original central heating system has been updated. The swimming pool, built by an adjacent property owner and shared with Riffington, was bulkheaded and tide controlled. A former Duke of Kent swam there when Andrew Wright Sr. owned Riffington, as it was the only pool in the area with bracing, sun-warmed saltwater. Since the time Wallace improved the design, Princess Margaret is also said to have swum there. The diving board is the original one.
The Uplands Development and Its Long-Term Appeal
The Uplands’ fortunes, after Riffington was built, took a less-than-steady course. During and after the Great War, development was slow, and the company encountered financial difficulty.
Construction picked up during the Depression, paradoxically, when labour was inexpensive for house-building. Yet by the end of the Second World War, more than 30 years after its creation, the subdivision was less than one-quarter filled with homes. Today, The Uplands is substantially complete, with residences ranging from gabled Tudor revivals to low, rambling ranchers, all protected by rigid restrictions of one sort or another.
Urban renewal is something the plush Uplands will almost never have to contemplate. It is, as the saying goes, safe as houses. As far as anyone can foresee, in contrast to many other residential districts, high-quality renovation and renewal will continue indefinitely.
The more affluent owners have historically maintained high standards of upkeep through private gardeners and household staff. The Uplands has long projected an atmosphere of permanence, privacy, and continuity, which helps explain why the neighbourhood continues to command such strong interest among luxury home buyers.
Keeping a Cow in The Uplands
The seafront home of businessman and industrialist Harold Husband at 3150 Rutland is remarkable in itself: an Uplands mansion built in 1913 for Lieutenant-Governor T.W. Paterson as his private home. But off the shoreline are the unusual relics of Paterson’s determination to keep a cow despite local restrictions.
Extending seaward is a small causeway leading to a rocky islet, and on that rocky islet was a shed that once sheltered his Jersey cow. Like clotheslines, cows were forbidden in the exclusive Uplands, so Paterson deftly circumvented the rules by buying the rock outcropping from the Hudson’s Bay Company, which then still owned offshore islands. There he stabled his cow. She ambled ashore during the day for pasturage, then returned home at night over the footbridge.
What is now the Uplands Golf Club and Uplands Park were once part of the grazing lands. Cattle Point is so named because cattle were landed there to fatten in The Uplands prior to slaughter in what was then called Ten Mile Point. The site is more probably near the Royal Victoria Yacht Club moorings on Beach Drive, where cattle skulls and other relics of a slaughterhouse have been seen in the water. The first manager of the Uplands farms was Charles A. Bailey.
Buying a Home in The Uplands
Uplands properties are rarely ordinary. Buyers will find a mix of classic estates, renovated character homes, mid-century residences, waterfront properties, and major contemporary luxury homes. Lot value is often a major part of the equation, and many homes sit on large, private parcels that would be extremely difficult to reproduce anywhere else in Oak Bay.
Because The Uplands is a highly specialized market, property value can vary significantly based on lot size, location, exposure, architectural quality, renovation level, waterfront position, views, and long-term redevelopment potential. The neighbourhood is best understood as a prestige estate market rather than a conventional suburban housing market.
