Building The Ross Bay Cemetery Memorial Entrance

In the heart of Victoria, BC lies one of the oldest surviving Victorian cemeteries and landscape designs in British Columbia: the Ross Bay Cemetery. The cemetery was officially opened in 1872 and overlooks both the Salish Sea and the Olympic Mountain Range. It spans nearly 28 acres and is a public park with an abundance of tree varieties and many pathways to explore throughout.

Ross Bay Cemetery is currently maintained by the City of Victoria and the Old Cemeteries Society which work in cooperation to restore the landscape and the graves amongst it. In 2022, Lennox Masonry was given the opportunity to co-design and build, while corroborating with both the City of Victoria and the Old Cemetery Society, an official memorial entrance for the cemetery.

With the approval of a Heritage Alteration Permit, work began in the summer of 2022 with the excavation of the site, as well as forming and pouring the concrete pillars.

Shortly after the pillars and the asphalt were fully cured, the granite cladding for the pillars was ready for installation. Lennox Masonry was responsible for designing and cutting the granite cladding to suit the project specifications and requirements, as well as applying the cladding to the pillars.

Once the cladding was set, the only remaining step was to install the gates, fencing, and plaques.

The construction of the memorial entrance to Ross Bay Cemetery by Lennox Masonry, the City of Victoria, and the the Old Cemeteries Society is a great example of craftsmanship, collaboration, and community engagement. It is vital to preserve and celebrate the landmarks that connect us to our collective heritage. The memorial entrance now stands as a tribute to the past and an entranceway to our collective future as a community.

To learn more about how Lennox Masonry is restoring the past and building the future, please visit our website, and our collection of insightful blog posts.

Lennox Masonry of Victoria, BC has been proudly serving both Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands for over a decade. We are small group of skilled masons with a great deal of passion towards our trade and for improving the communities we live and work in. We extend our gratitude to the lək̓ʷəŋən people for allowing us to share and work on this corner of the garden with them. We are thankful for the residents and businesses of Victoria, BC for supporting us in our endeavors!

If you’re in need of a professional and reliable masonry company for your next project, please contact us today!