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Heritage & Art
Probably the most profound influence on the area came from architect Sir Herbert Baker (1862 -1946), a man who had an enormous impact on South African architecture in general and it is fitting that the special-event suite located above reception be named after him.
Born and educated in England, Baker first went to South Africa to visit his brother in 1892. One of his first commissions was remodeling Cecil John Rhodes' residence, Groote Schuur - which has been renamed Genadendal and is now the official residence of the South African President. |
Following an invitation from Lord Alfred Milner, Baker moved to the Transvaal. The first house he built in Johannesburg was Stone House in Rockridge Road, Parktown. It was Baker’s home for 10 years and was proclaimed a national monument in 1968.
In addition to many Randlord homes in Parktown and Westcliff, Baker’s designs can be seen across the country: cathedrals and churches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria, schools and universities in Grahamstown and Johannesburg, the Rhodes Memorial in Cape Town, amongst others. In 1910 he designed South Africa’s Union Buildings, regarded as among the most beautiful seats of government in the world. Baker left South Africa in 1912 and moved to India, where he worked with his friend and rival, fellow British architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869 – 1944), the notable British architect described as a “great friend and rival” of Sir Herbert Baker, designed numerous war memorials, including the Rand Regiments Memorial in Johannesburg. It is fitting that the private dining room steeped in historical references and offering particularly good views of the War Memorial is named the Lutyens Dining Room. Lutyens also designed the Johannesburg Art Gallery in Joubert Park, which houses the city’s principal art collection.
Dalrymple House, in which rooms 501 to 508 are located, is named after Sir William and Lady Isabel Dalrymple – the energetic and popular couple who had the privilege of living in one of the most interesting of Herbert Baker’s large houses, Glenshiel, built in 1910. The Dalrymples entertained many distinguished visitors at Glenshiel, among them the Governor-General the Earl of Clarendon and his wife, Princess Alice. Today Glenshiel is a national monument and home to the offices of the Order of St John.
North Lodge, in which rooms 601 to 612 are located, is named after a house designed and built for Henry Wilson, a prosperous Johannesburg merchant in 1905. Designed by one H Aldwynckle of the Royal Institute of British Architects, North Lodge is often referred to as the most romantic house in Parktown. A fantasy house reminiscent of a castle, it stood majestically overlooking the forest of gum trees in what is today the suburb of Saxonwold.
Dolobran, the building in which rooms 901 – 932 are housed, is named after the house designed and built for Sir Charles Llewellyn Anderson by English architect JA Hope Christie on Parktown Ridge. The house’s fairy-tale look is derived from a mix of architectural styles and is most notably recognized by the distinctive weathervane rising from the ogee dome of a corner turret.
The Jacaranda Hill Ballroom and Conference Centre, designed in keeping with the randlord homes of the area, boasts many finishes inspired by another of Sir Herbert Baker’s landmark residential designs, “Arcadia”, located on Parktown Ridge. From its classic cream-coloured exterior (or “Herbert Baker white”), chequered marble floors and murals to its barley-twist chimneys and working weather-vane – Jacaranda Hill provides a stately venue for entertaining in the grand manner evocative of the Rand in its historic heyday. |
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