Somerset West () is a town in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town (; ) is a Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the metropolitan municipality (South Africa), local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of ...

metropolitan municipality A metropolitan municipality is a municipality established to serve a metropolitan area. Canada In generic terms and in practical application within Canada, a metropolitan municipality is an urban local government with partial or complete consol ...

Eastern Suburbs zone (formerly called Helderberg Basin). The vehicle registration code for Somerset West is ''CFM'' and the post code is 7130 for street addresses, and 7129 for post office boxes.

History

A cattle post was established here by Dutch soldiers in 1672. A town developed around the Lourens River (originally "Tweederivier", which means "Second River"; "Eersterivier", meaning "First River" passes through

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

, some to the north) and the farm of

Vergelegen Vergelegen (Dutch: "remotely situated") is a historic wine estate in Somerset West, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Foundation The estate was settled in 1700 by an early Governor of the Cape, Willem Adriaan van der Stel. Van d ...

(Dutch: "remotely situated"), an 18th-century farmhouse built in the historic Cape Dutch style by

Willem Adriaan van der Stel Willem Adriaan van der Stel (24 August 1664 – 11 November 1733) was an Extraordinary Councillor of the Dutch East Indies, and Governor of the Cape Colony, a way station for the Dutch East India Company (VOC), from 23 January 1699 to 1707. He w ...

, governor of the Cape and son of

Simon van der Stel Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony (1691), the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. He was interested in botany, establishing vineyards Groot Constantia, Groot and Klein C ...

, who gave his name to the nearby town of

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

. Willem Adriaan was later sent back to Holland after being charged with corruption and cruelty towards local Dutch farmers. The farm is now owned by a subsidiary of the large mining company Anglo American, who have restored the farmhouse to its original magnificence and continue to produce some of South Africa's best wines there. The farm is open to tourists. Somerset West was founded in 1822 on part of the historic farm, Vergelegen. The town was named Somerset after a British governor of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

during the 1800s,

Lord Charles Somerset Lord Charles Henry Somerset PC (12 December 1767 – 18 February 1831), born in Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it ma ...

, with the suffix 'West' being added after 1825 to differentiate it from

Somerset East Somerset East () (renamed KwaNojoli in 2023) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 (South Afri ...

, another South African town in the Eastern Cape. In the 1830s,

Sir Lowry's Pass Sir Lowry's Pass is a mountain pass on the N2 national road in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It crosses the Hottentots Holland Mountains between Somerset West and the Elgin valley, on the main route between Cape Town and the G ...

, named after later governor

Sir Lowry Cole General Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole (1 May 1772 – 4 October 1842) was a British Army officer and politician. Early life Cole was the second son of an Irish peer, William Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen (1 March 1736 – 22 May 1803), and ...

, was constructed to link the town with outposts further east over the

Hottentots-Holland The Hottentots Holland Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape, South Africa. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast. The range is primarily composed o ...

mountains. In the 1960s, the

AECI Aeci (or Aetius) (died 1010), Bishop of Barcelona from 995, was a warrior-prelate in the age of the Peace and Truce of God. Besides military endeavours, mainly ''reconquista'' (the re-conquest of Islamic territory), his episcopate was taken up wit ...

factory between Somerset West and

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

was the second largest dynamite factory in the world.

Geography

Somerset West is located on the N2 about east of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

and kilometres south of

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

. The town borders

and

Gordon's Bay Gordon's Bay () is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs region (formerly called Helderberg Basin). It is situated on the shores of Gordon ...

and is overlooked by the

Helderberg Mountain The Helderberg Mountain is part of the Hottentots-Holland mountain range in the Western Cape, South Africa. The Helderberg Nature Reserve is situated on the slopes of the beautiful Helderberg Mountain overlooking the town of Somerset West and ...

(meaning "clear mountain"), a part of the

range of mountains. The Hottentots-Holland mountains surround Somerset West in an amphitheatre shape.

Suburbs

Somerset West includes more than 65 suburbs covering a large area of 61.37 square kilometres within its administrative boundaries, extending from the satellite areas of Firgrove to the west and Sir Lowry's Pass Village to the east. It includes the following suburbs: *Andas Estate *Bel' Aire *Bene *Bergaio *Boskloof Eco Estate *Braeview *Bridgebank *Bridgewater *Briza *Canwick *Carey Parks *Cherrywood Gardens *Chris Nissen Village *Croydon *Dennegeur *Die Wingerd *Dorhill *Erinvale Golf Estate *Fairview Heights * Firgrove (incl. Firgrove Rural) *Fraai Gelegen *Garden Village *Golden Acre *Golden Hill *Greenway Rise *Haumannshof *Helderberg *Helderberg Estate *Helderberg Rural *Helderberg Village *Helderrand *Heldervue *Helderzicht *Helena Heights *Heritage Mews *Heritage Park *Illaire *Jacques Hill *Jonkershoogte *Kalamunda *La Concorde *La Montagne *La Sandra * Land en Zeezicht *Lionviham *Longdown Estate *Lynn's View *Martinville *Montclair *Monte Sereno *Morningside *Natures Valley *Olive Grove *Paardevlei * Parel Vallei *Pearl Marina *Radloff Park *Rome Glen *Roundhay *Shady Glen * Sir Lowry's Pass Village *Somerset Ridge *Spanish Farm (incl. Spanish Farm Ext 1) *Steenbras View *Steyn's Nest *Stuart's Hill *The Vines *Victoria Park *Westridge *Zandberg

Retail

Owing to its regional status and central location, Somerset West has become the major retail hub for the

Helderberg Helderberg refers to a planning district of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, the mountain after which it is named, a wine-producing area in the Western Cape province of South Africa, or a small census area in Somerset West. Or ...

, Stellenbosch and the

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the e ...

regions. Somerset Mall, situated alongside the N2 freeway serves as the largest shopping centre in the Helderberg region. A number of other local retail shopping centres can be found in the town's suburban areas such as Helderberg Mall, Somerset Value Centre, The Sanctuary, Waterstone Village Shopping Centre, Vergelegen Plein and Sitari Village Mall.

Tourism

Somerset West offers several tourist attractions due to its position on the Hottentots-Holland mountains and between the

Cape Winelands The Boland (, meaning "highland") is a region of the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated to the northeast of Cape Town in the middle and upper courses of the Berg and Breede Rivers, around the Boland Mountains of the central Cape ...

and the nearby beaches of

and

Wine

Somerset West forms part of the Helderberg Wine Region which is a wine-producing sub-region of the greater Stellenbosch Wine Region. Helderberg includes wine estates such as include 96 Winery, Alto, Audacia, Annandale, Cavalli, Ernie Els, Grangehurst, Guardian Peak, Haskell, Hidden Valley, Idiom, Ken Forrester, Klein Welmoed, Le Riche, Longridge, Lourensford, Lyngrove, Miravel, Morgenster, Peter Falke, Post House, Somerbosch, Uva Mira, Vergelegen, Vergenoegd and Waterkloof. The most popular and nearest wine estates amongst the many surrounding Somerset West are Vergelegen and Lourensford. The

Wine Estate lies on the border of Somerset West, spanning into the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve. The buildings on the estate constitute fine examples of

Cape Dutch architecture Cape Dutch architecture is an architectural style primarily found in the Western Cape of South Africa, though modern adaptations have been constructed in regions such as Western Australia and New Zealand, typically on wine estates. The style e ...

. The Lourensford Wine Estate which neighbours the Vergelegen Wine Estate features the Lourensford Market and a Sports car museum known as MOTOR Studio.

Festivals

Every December, the town has a display of Christmas lights erected atop the street lights of the Main Road. The Helderberg Lights Festival (aka the Strawberry Festival), a flea market and parade, normally complements these lights.

Nature

The

Helderberg Nature Reserve Helderberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Somerset West, South Africa. This nature reserve is located on the southern slopes of the Helderberg mountains. Its 398 ha consist mostly of “Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos” (a highly species-ric ...

, a 363 hectare natural wildlife preserve opened in 1964, contains a wide variety of smaller fauna (small antelope, tortoises and other reptiles) and indigenous flora such as ''

Protea ''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). It is the type genus of the Proteaceae family. About 92% of the species occur only in the Cape Floristic Region, a narrow belt of mo ...

'' and

fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...

Guest Houses & B&Bs

In recent years many guest houses and B&Bs have opened up in Somerset West, since it is conveniently located for

( away on the N2 motorway), the beaches at the

and

, and the Western Cape's numerous wine farms.

Growth

In recent years, there has been a population boom in Somerset West with various secure or gated estates such as Sitari Country Estate, Croydon Vineyard and Olive Estates and Kelderhof Country Village being built on previously undeveloped land west of the town, gradually closing the little break isolating Somerset West from the rest of the metropolitan area. Paardevlei, south of the town, is an emerging

mixed-use development Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

comprising gated residential complexes and the Busamed Paardevlei Private Hospital.

Education

The town has a range of primary and secondary educational facilities. Primary schools * Somerset West Primary School *

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

* Somerset College * Somerset West Private School * Helderberg Primary School * De Hoop Primary * Beaumont Primary * International School of Helderberg * Danie Ackerman Primary School * Reddam House Somerset * Newberry Montessori School * Curro Primary School High schools * Hottentots Holland High School * Parel Vallei High School *Somerset College * Somerset West Private School *Helderberg High School * International School of Helderberg *Gordon High School * Reddam House Somerset *The Mayor Matthews Institution for Excellence *Christian Kotzé Higher Education *

Helderberg College of Higher Education Helderberg College of Higher Education is a private higher education institution situated in Somerset West, Western Cape, Somerset West, South Africa, about thirty minutes from Cape Town. It was established in 1893, and was the first Seventh ...

Transport

Rail

Somerset West lies on the Strand Line (a branch line of the

Northern Line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

), connecting its two railway stations: Somerset West and Van der Stel. The Strand service operated by

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

runs westwards to Cape Town (via

Kuilsrivier Kuils River (Afrikaans: Kuilsrivier) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, 25 km (15 miles) east of Cape Town and 20 km (12 miles) west of Stellenbosch at the gateway of the Cape Winelands. It is also the name of the main tributary of t ...

and Bellville) and eastwards to

Roads

The N2 is the main route through Somerset West connecting

with

Grabouw Grabouw ( , ) is a town located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Grabouw is located some 65 km south-east of Cape Town, over Sir Lowry's Pass from Somerset West, along the N2 (South Africa), N2 highway. The town is the commercia ...

and

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

. The N2 ''W'' (in the direction of Cape Town) from the R102 on the outskirts of the town runs as a dual-carriage freeway while the N2 ''E'' (in the direction of George) runs as an at-grade road. Running north-west to

, the R102 (Strand Road) is an older section of the N2 and the old main road between Cape Town and Somerset West. The R44 (Broadway Boulevard) connects to

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

in the north and

Kleinmond Kleinmond is a small coastal town in the Overberg region of the Western Cape province, South Africa. It is situated inside a UNESCO-declared Man and the Biosphere Programme, biosphere about 90 km east of Cape Town between Betty's Bay and Herm ...

in the south-east (via

and

). The town is also intersected by four metropolitan routes connecting it to surrounding suburbs such as the M9 (Main Road; Sir Lowry's Pass Village Road) connecting to Macassar in the west and Sir Lowry's Pass Village in the east, the M149 (Victoria Street) connecting to Strand, the M153 (Main Road) connecting to Strand and the M156 (Irene Avenue; Steynsrust Road) connecting to Firgrove.

Notable people

* Steven Kitshoff — rugby union player *

Selborne Boome Christopher Selborne Boome (born 16 April 1975) is a South African former professional rugby union player who has made 20 appearances for the South African national rugby union team, the Springboks. He represented Northampton Saints and Montfer ...

— rugby union player *

Ramsay Carelse Ramsay Carelse (born 30 October 1985) is a South African high jumper. He was born in Somerset West, Western Cape. He finished fifth at the 2004 World Junior Championships, fifth at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and won the bronze medal at the 200 ...

— high jumper *

Eddie Daniels Eddie Daniels (born October 19, 1941) is an American musician and composer. Although he is best known as a jazz clarinetist, he has also played saxophone and flute as well as classical music on clarinet. Early life, family and education Daniel ...

— ex-political prisoner on Robben Island *

Justin Harding Justin Adam Harding (born 9 February 1986) is a South African professional golfer. Amateur career Harding attended Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and played college golf at Lamar University in Texas and represented his countr ...

— golfer *

Trevor Immelman Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African retired professional golfer and television commentator who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tourn ...

— professional golfer; winner of the 2008 Masters Tournament *

Chris McGregor Christopher McGregor (24 December 1936 – 26 May 1990) was a South African jazz pianist, bandleader and composer born in Somerset West, South Africa. Early influences McGregor grew up in the then Transkei (now part of the Eastern Cape Prov ...

— jazz pianist, bandleader and composer * H. V. Morton — journalist and travel writer * Ernest "Eddie" Peirce — boxer *

Handré Pollard Handré Pollard (born 11 March 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team and in the United Rugby Championship. His regular playing pos ...

— rugby union player *

Storm Roux Storm James Roux ( ; born 13 January 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a right back for A-League Men club Central Coast Mariners. Born in South Africa, he plays for the New Zealand national team. Roux played youth football with ...

— New Zealand international footballer * David Ribbans — rugby union player * Ben-Jason Dixon — rugby union player

Coats of arms

Municipality (1) — Somerset West was a municipality in its own right from 1904 to 1996. The council approved its first coat of arms on 23 April 1935.Western Cape Archives : Somerset West Municipal Minutes (23 April 1935). : Municipality (2) — In 1953, the council approved a new design, by

Ivan Mitford-Barberton Ivan Mitford-Barberton (1896–1976) was a South African sculptor, writer and authority on heraldry. Early life and education Mitford-Barberton was born in Somerset East, in Cape Colony, in 1896. He was a descendant of several 1820 Settler ...

and

H. Ellis Tomlinson Harold Ellis Tomlinson PhD (1916–1997) was an English schoolteacher and heraldist. He designed many civic and corporate coats of arms, served as heraldic advisor to local government associations, and published monographs on the subject. Earl ...

. This was in response to a Cape Provincial Administration circular calling on municipalities to have their arms checked and, if necessary, re-designed to make them heraldically correct. The arms were granted by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

on 25 November 1953. They were registered at the

Bureau of Heraldry The Bureau of Heraldry is the South African heraldic authority, established in Pretoria on 1 June 1963. It is headed by a State Herald (known unofficially as the National Herald since 2004) and its functions are to register arms, badges, flags ...

in June 1994.National Archives of South Africa : Data of the Bureau of Heraldry
/ref> The arms were: ''Azure, a portcullis chained Or; on a chief of the last a setting sun Gules'' (i.e. a blue shield displaying a red setting sun on a golden stripe across the top, and a golden portcullis with chains below it). The crest was a golden demi-lion holding a vine, issuing from a red mural crown charged with three golden rings. The motto was ''Prorsum sursum''. The design is canting: the portcullis comes from the Somerset family arms, and the setting sun denotes the west.

Gallery

References

{{Authority control Suburbs of Cape Town Populated places established in 1822 1822 establishments in the Cape Colony zh:開普敦