Herbert Baker

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Sir Herbert Baker

Sir Herbert Baker RA (born June 9, 1862 in Cobham (Kent) , England , † February 4, 1946 in Cobham) was a British architect and town planner, he is known as the "Architect of South Africa ". His final resting place is in Westminster Abbey .

Life

The Rhodes Memorial in Cape Town
Union Buildings in Pretoria

He began his architectural training in the office of his cousin Arthur Baker. He then began his studies at the Royal Academy School of Architecture and at the same time entered the architectural office of Sir Ernest George and worked for several years as his assistant. During this time he got to know Edwin Lutyens , who also practiced as a student with Ernest Georg. He later became a member of the Royal Institute for British Architecture (RIBA) , where he won awards and recognition in 1890.

In 1892 he traveled to South Africa. However, his brother, whom he wanted to visit, was busy building his own farm at the time , so Baker took the opportunity to travel around the country. He studied the Dutch-influenced architectural style that prevailed through the former colonial rulers and began to be interested in building with sandstone . He took on some renovation jobs for colonial houses in order to gain experience in dealing with the local types of sandstone.

With his friend and patron Cecil John Rhodes , he began the renaissance of the old colonial traditions in architecture and craftsmanship. On behalf of Rhodes he built the new official residence of the President of South Africa in Pretoria . The Rhodes Memorial , a memorial ensemble with sculptures by George Frederic Watts and John Macallan Swan, was built on Devil's Peak in Cape Town by 1912 based on Baker's designs . With the financial support of Rhodes, Baker was able to carry out several study trips to Egypt and southern Europe.

He left South Africa in 1912 and moved to India . 1913 received an offer to design the legislative assembly building in New Delhi . He followed this call and became one of the co-builders and architects of New Delhi, here he worked with the well-known architect Sir Edwin Lutyens , whom he already knew from his student years. After completing his work in New Delhi, Baker returned to London and was promoted to personal nobility in 1926 as a Knight Bachelor ("Sir") .

At the invitation of Edward Grigg , the then British Governor of Kenya, Baker stayed in the Crown Colony and Protectorate of Kenya in 1925. As a result of this meeting, several public buildings were built here based on his designs.

After the First World War , Baker was appointed chief architect for the construction of war cemeteries in Flanders and England by the then "Royal War Graves Commission" (now Commonwealth War Graves Commission ) . The use of sandstone, which he had learned in South Africa, is always reflected in his explanations of the war cemeteries and the sandstone became the distinctive feature of the war cemeteries.

As a further honor, he received the gold medal for architecture from the Royal Academy of Architecture in 1927 and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Universities of Witwatersrand and Oxford . In 1930 he was inducted into the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) as Knight Commander .

Buildings (selection)

Under his direction and on the basis of his designs, several architecturally outstanding buildings were built in South Africa as well as in British East Africa , England, Belgium and India. For his work in South Africa he was given the attribute "Architect of South Africa". In the Transvaal alone , over 300 buildings were built based on designs by Herbert Baker.

Structures in British East Africa (Kenya)

  • Government House Nairobi , later the State House , the presidential seat in Nairobi (together with Jan Hoogterp)
  • Kenya Railways Headquarters in Nairobi (1924–1927)
  • Nairobi European School on Nairobi Hill in Nairobi (opened in 1928)
  • Indian High School in Nairobi (with Jan Hoogterp, 1929)
  • Prince of Wales School , also Kabete Boys Secondary School , in Kabete (1929-1931)

Working in South Africa

Baker's home in Johannesburg

Buildings in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)

  • Anglican Cathedral of St. Mary and All Saints in Salisbury, today Harare (1913–1914, tower not built until 1955)

Working in England

Structures in New Delhi (India)

War cemetery

The largest and best-known war cemetery of the CWGC, built by Baker, is "Tyne Cot" it was built in 1927 on a military cemetery from the battles off Ypres ( Belgium ). His successor as chief architect for the construction of war cemeteries in Europe was Sir Philip Dalton Hepworth , who also adopted the architectural style of Baker and also preferred limestone as a building material.

Gallery of some works outside of South Africa

  • Bank of England building

  • Government Buildings in New Delhi

  • Presidential Palace in New Delhi (formerly the seat of the English viceroy in India)

  • Cross of Sacrifice of the Tyne Cot war cemetery near Ypres . (The cross itself was designed by Reginald Blomfield .)

Web links

Commons : Herbert Baker  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Désirée Picton-Seymour, Janek Szymanowski: Historical Buildings in South Africa . Struikhof, Cape Town 1989, p. 172, ISBN 0-947458-01-8
  2. ↑ Jesse Kamwaro: Nairobi fact file: Things you did not know about State House and other landmark buildings in Nairobi . Posted December 2, 2015 on www.sde.co.ke (English)
  3. ^ Daily Nation: 8 Kenya Railways Headquarters Moi Avenue . on www.nation.co.ke (English)
  4. ↑ Old Cambrian Society: Captain BWL Nicholson RN, CBE, DSO. First Headmaster of the Prince of Wales School, 1931-1937 . on www.oldcambrians.com
  5. ↑ Old Cambrian Society: Indian School, Nairobi (the Duke of Gloucester School) . on www.oldcambrians.com (English)
  6. ^ Muriel Emanuel: Contemporary Architects . Springer, p. 66, ISBN 9781349041848 , online at www.books.google.de
  7. ^ National Public Library: Prince of Wales School . Article of the World Heritage Encyclopedia, online at www.nationalpubliclibrary.info (English)
  8. ↑ Nairobi School: History ( Memento of the original from July 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . on www.nairobischool.ac.ke (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nairobischool.ac.ke
  9. ↑ Old Cambrian Society: Sir Herbert Baker and the Prince of Wales School . on www.oldcambrians.com (English)
  10. ↑ University of the Witwatersrand : Wits Reproductive Health & HIV Institute: The Past ( Memento of the original from July 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . at www.wrhi.ac.za (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wrhi.ac.za
  11. ^ The Heritage Portal: Living Amongst the Stars at the Johannesburg Observatory . on www.theheritageportal.co.za (English)
  12. ↑ Kimberley City Info: Monuments and Memorials . on www.kimberley.org.za (English)
  13. ↑ Stonehouse (House Baker) . on www.artefacts.co.za (English)
  14. ↑ Rhodesia Remembered: Cathedral's Historic Site . Posted on April 20, 2012 at www.rhodesianheritage.blogspot.de (English)
personal data
SURNAME Baker, Herbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Baker, Sir Herbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British architect and town planner
DATE OF BIRTH June 9, 1862
PLACE OF BIRTH Cobham (Kent) , England
DATE OF DEATH February 4, 1946
Place of death Cobham (Kent) , England