Historic Designation

Castle Kilbride was designated a national historic site in 1993 by the Historic Sites and Monument Board of Canada (HSMBC). The reason for the national significance are:

"By virtue of its superb decorative mural paintings gracing its principle interior rooms"; and
"Castle Kilbride is a superior example of an Italianate villa of its period".

"The paintings adorning the principal rooms of this remarkable Italianate villa are distinguished by their fine decorative quality and high level of execution. Of particular merit are the robust, strongly coloured compositions, dating to 1878, in the hall and library. Combining figurative art with arabesque designs and Trompe l’oeil, or illusionistic scenes, they are rare examples of the 19th-century attempt to reestablish the Renaissance tradition of fresco painting. Their survival enriches our understanding of the interrelationship of classical art and architecture in this period."