The Old Diocesan Issue 12 - Magazine - Page 56
W
hen Reverend
Harold Birt
assumed leadership
of Bishops in 1919,
the school was in a precarious
condition, struggling with the
aftermath of World War I, two
years of interrupted interregnum,
neglected facilities, a demoralised
staff, and a financially constrained
Council accustomed to operating
in debt. Despite these challenges,
Birt approached his responsibilities
with plenty of enthusiasm and
determination, bolstered by his
belief in the strong support from
old boys. In time, his 24-year tenure
would be known as one of the
more remarkable periods of
leadership in the school’s history.
On Birt’s arrival, the new
buildings on Woodlands Estate
comprised the original school
structure – Founders House,
built in several phases over
53 years – and School House,
due for completion in 1920.
Birt soon identified several
key infrastructure projects:
new academic buildings, sports
facilities, a prep school and
a significantly larger chapel.
The chapel in question was
to be the fourth created on
the estate. The first was an
outbuilding adjacent to the
main house, existing on the
estate when purchased in 1850.
The second was incorporated
into the first phase of new school
buildings built in 1852, which
became Founders House. The
third was a freestanding building
completed in 1880, later named
the Brooke Chapel. Although
this chapel remains in use to
this day, it had proven unable to
accommodate the whole school
since 1901, and there was thus a
pressing necessity for a new one.
The new chapel was to be built
as a memorial to commemorate
the 112 Old Diocesans who had
died in the Great War, and as the
centrepiece of the developing core
of buildings – now considered the
historic hub of the campus. There
were 372 pupils enrolled at the
time, but the school was growing;
the brief required seating for 750.
In 1921, the College Council
appointed architects Messrs
Marshall and Walgate to design
the new chapel, tasking them with
Percy Walgate
(1886-1972),
responsible for
the design of
the new chapel.
UCT in 1933 at completion of the initial campus, much of which
was the vision of the talented and tragic OD Joseph Solomon.
52 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
developing proposals together.
Arthur Marshall had become the
College Architect following the
tragic suicide of his professional
partner Joseph Solomon in August
1920. Solomon, an Old Diocesan
(1902F), had served as the College
Architect since 1915, during which
time he designed the Sanatorium
– now part of the Music School –
and an extension to Founders
House to complete the quad.
(See Michael Walker’s profile
on Solomon in Issue 3.)
Percy Walgate, born in Beverley,
Yorkshire, received his education
at a local grammar school. In 1907,
he was awarded a National
Scholarship in Architecture,
leading him to the Architecture
School of the Royal College
of Art in South Kensington. He
gained practical experience as
an assistant in the office of Fair
& Myer, ARIBA, in London. In 1910,
as a Royal College of Art travelling
scholar, he attended the British
School at Rome, where he focused
on the study of domes. After
returning to the RCA, he was
honoured with the Grissell Gold
Medal. Despite his youth, Walgate
became the chief assistant to
Herbert Baker in 1914, contributing
to the design of the Secretariat
for New Delhi, India. He then
relocated to South Africa in 1920
to assist Joseph Solomon with
the University of Cape Town’s
new campus development on
the Groote Schuur Estate.
Following Solomon’s death,
the University Council appointed
the firm of Hawke and McKinley
as the architects of record, forming
a partnership with Walgate, who
retained design responsibilities.
The Solomon sketch design was
implemented, with Sir Edwin
Lutyens brought in as consultant.
On completion, in 1933, the
campus was generally regarded
as one of the finest in the world.
