Herbert Baker Route

Sir Herbert Baker

For two decades in South Africa, Sir Herbert Baker is described as being the dominant force in our country’s architecture. Many well-known schools (including Michael House, St Andrew’s College Grahamstown and Wynberg Boys High School), churches and houses were designed by him including well known land marks like the Union Buildings in Pretoria and Rhodes Memorial on the slopes of Devil’s Peak in Cape Town. Well acquainted with Cecil Rhodes, he began his career in South Africa in 1893 when he was commissioned by Rhodes to remodel Groote Schuur. His love for Cape Dutch architecture mixed with Anglo-Saxon and renaissance buildings can be seen in much of his work in South Africa.

He was contracted by many wealthy mining magnets to design their homes around South Africa. He designed buildings for Lord Alfred Milner as well as Jan Christiaan Smuts. He was commissioned to design the Union Buildings in 1909, before the Union of South Africa in 1910. Its design was aimed at symbolizing the union between the English and the Afrikaner.

Knighted for his work in architecture Middelburg area is privileged to have numerous homes and buildings designed by him.

Launch of the Sir Herbert Baker Route