Cape Dutch architecture is an
architectural style
An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...
found mostly in the
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
of South Africa, but modern examples of the style have also been exported as far afield as Western Australia and New Zealand, typically on wine estates. The style was prominent in the early days (17th century) of the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
, and the name derives from the initial settlers of the Cape being primarily Dutch. The style has roots in medieval Netherlands, Germany, France and Indonesia.
Architectural features
Houses in this style have a distinctive and recognizable design, with a prominent feature being the grand, ornately rounded
clock gable
The clock gable ( nl, klokgevel), also known as Dutch clock gable, is a gable or facade with decorative shape characteristic of traditional Dutch architecture. The top of the gable is shaped like the cross-section of a church bell. It was mostly us ...
s, reminiscent of features in townhouses of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
built in the
Dutch style. Whilst this feature is probably the most recognizable, it is ''not'' a defining feature of the style. The manor house on the "Uitkyk" Wine Estate, Stellenbosch, for example does not have a gable at all, but remains clearly in the Cape Dutch Style. In the late 18th century, Georgian influenced neoclassical Cape Dutch architecture was very popular however only three houses in this style remain. The houses are also usually H-shaped, with the front section of the house usually being flanked by two wings running perpendicular to it.
The Cape Dutch architectural style is defined by the following characteristics:
* Whitewashed walls
* Thatched roofing
* Large wooden sash cottage panes
* External wooden shutters
* Long horizontal structures, usually single or double story, often with dormer windows
* Green detailing is often used
* Central gables, reminiscent of a Dutch
canal house
A canal house ( nl, grachtenpand) is a (usually old) house overlooking a canal. These houses are often slim, high and deep. Canal houses usually had a basement and a loft and attic where trade goods could be stored. A special beam or pulley in ...
is a common, but not universal feature
Most Cape Dutch buildings in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
have been lost to new developments – particularly to high-rises in the
City Bowl during the 1960s. However, the Cape Dutch tradition can still be seen in many of the farmhouses of the
Wine Route, and historical towns such as
,
Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
,
Swellendam
Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them ...
,
Franschhoek
Franschhoek (; Afrikaans for "French Corner", Dutch spelling before 1947 ''Fransche Hoek'') is a small town in the Western Cape Province and one of the oldest towns in South Africa. Formerly known as Oliphants hoek (as there were vast groups of ...
,
Tulbagh
Tulbagh, named after Dutch Cape Colony Governor Ryk Tulbagh, is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin (also known as the Tulbagh basin), in the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa. The basin is fringed on three side ...
and
Graaff-Reinet
Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the ...
.
One characteristic feature of South African colonial architecture which has attracted the attention of many observers is the extensive use of gables. Earlier research has repeatedly sought to justify the term `Cape-Dutch' solely by comparing the decorative form of these gables to those of Amsterdam. However, in the second half of the 18th century, the period in which, the entire development of the South African gable tradition occurs, gable architecture had gradually ceased to be built in Amsterdam. North of Amsterdam, along the river Zaan, however, gable design remained vigorous until the capture of the Cape. South African gables have many features in common with gables along the river Zaan, in spite of the different materials used.
Cape Dutch Revival
By the middle of the 19th century the style had fallen out of popularity and many of the buildings were left to decay. In 1893
Cecil John Rhodes
Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.
An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Brit ...
purchased the farm
Groote Schuur
Groote Schuur (, Dutch for "big shed") is an estate in Cape Town, South Africa. In 1657, the estate was owned by the Dutch East India Company which used it partly as a granary. Later, the farm and farmhouse was sold into private hands. Groote Sc ...
(Big Barn) and hired architect
Sir Herbert Baker
Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He wa ...
to redesign the manor house. Baker looked for a Cape vernacular style and drew influence from Cape Dutch buildings. In reality he created an English country home with Cape Dutch style Gables. This led to the Cape Dutch Revival style.
In 1902, Baker was brought to Johannesburg by the
Randlords following the British victory in the
Anglo-Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...
and included the Cape Dutch Gable on many homes on the Rand. Following Union in 1910, the Cape Dutch Revival style became very popular as a South African vernacular style. Unlike real Cape Dutch Architecture, the Cape Dutch Revival style is defined almost exclusively by ornate gables. The rise in popularity of the Cape Dutch Revival style led to a renewed interest in Cape Dutch architecture and many original Cape Dutch buildings were restored during this period.
See also
*
List of house styles
This list of house styles lists styles of vernacular architecture used in the design of houses.
African
Asian
South American
Mediterranean, Spanish, Italian
Neoclassical
Elizabethan and Tudor
Colonial
French and Canadian
Victo ...
*
History of Cape Town
* ''
A Guide to the Old Buildings of the Cape''
References
Notes by Dr. Hans Fransen, architectural historian and author of The Old Buildings of the Chicken curry (2004) and Old Towns and Villages of the Cape (2006).
External links
History and Evolution of Cape Dutch Architecture (with more pics)McGregor– the best preserved and most complete example of mid-19th-century townscape in the Cape Province
Contemporary Cape Dutch Style @ architectcapetown.co.zaCape Dutch Architecture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cape Dutch Architecture
Architecture in South Africa
Architectural styles
African architecture by ethnicity
Dutch colonial architecture
Dutch Colonial Revival architecture
Dutch Cape Colony