If your walls could talk
Category Lifestyle
This month we thought we would introduce you to "Cape Town Property Histories" given that the Observatory and Woodstock areas are packed with interesting history, including the architecture.
As with most of early Cape Town, Woodstock and Observatory are some of the oldest suburbs in SA. In the case of Observatory, its early history is that of being a Khoekhoe cattle grazing area, followed by early free burgher land grants in the 1650s, when farming estates were established.
On these estates, simple settler houses evolved into large Cape Dutch homesteads by the late 18th century. By the early 20th century, as these farms were subdivided, the Victorian villas that we associate with Obs were built en masse as the new residential suburb emerged.
On the other hand, part of Woodstock is actually built on reclaimed land. In the 1940s, about 194ha was reclaimed in the Table Bay area and today includes areas of Woodstock and Paarden Eiland.
Since these areas and many homes often come with interesting histories, you may want to know more about that. We are therefore delighted to introduce you to Jim Hislop and his "Cape Town Property Histories" project.
Jim has had a lifelong interest in collecting information, images, and books about old vernacular buildings of Cape Town. In 2014, he decided to take this further by publishing his first book as part of a series on the architectural history of various Cape Town suburbs that interested him. The book, Wheatfields & Windmills, includes the early estates and homesteads of 'Obs' and part of Mowbray.
He says the experience gained through doing research for the book was invaluable (from tackling the archives and Deeds Office to engaging with professional researchers, heritage practitioners and archaeologists) - then a friend suggested that he researches the history of his Fresnaye house. This started a new career for him as a property historian, and so "Cape Town Property Histories" was born.
Jim has since researched the histories of amazing houses and sites from Obs, Green Point and the CBD to Stellenbosch, Tulbagh and Saron. These include Leinster Hall, Gardens (a Georgian homestead with rare latticework veranda); Aboyne, Kenilworth (once the home of art collector William Fehr); the President Hotel, Bantry Bay (site of the 1760s Society House); The Lennox (Cape Town's last residential hotel); as well as properties in BoKaap, Athlone, Rugby, and Parow (including increasingly rare wood-and-iron houses). In 2018, Jim self-published a second book, Behind the Castle, which looks at the early history of District Six - something which had not been covered in a book before.
Jim enjoys the detective work which the research entails, hence the property histories are detailed, as he investigates not only the erf itself, but also finds out if it was once part of a larger old estate) and sources old images of the surrounding area. He also traces the full ownership history of the property, researches any owners of interest, sources old aerial images and surveys and looks for old photos of the house (sometimes you might catch a glimpse in a painting or panorama that provides clues about its former appearance), and then compiles the information and images into a booklet.
He says clients are always amazed at the information that he finds, not only about the structures they're interested in, but also past owners (many interesting characters have emerged).
Jim's initial experience of researching the architecture of Obs has opened up a wonderful world of architectural research that continues to reveal so much more about the fascinating suburbs and early houses of Cape Town.
If you would like to know more about your property's history, contact Jim on wheatfields.windmills@gmail.com or 083 950 9586.
Home is our Story and property our passion. Just a reminder that despite the 0.75% increase in the prime interest rate, we expect the property market to remain active. If you would like to know more about opportunities in the current market, please feel free to contact us.
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Author: Gina Meintjes
