(FRIBA 1902; OBE)
Principal of FORSYTH & PARKER and one of the leading architects in Cape Town between 1895 and 1921, Parker was born in Greenock, Scotland and educated in Glasgow. He entered the office of Naval architects McNicoll & Smith in Glasgow where he remained for a year before his apprenticeship to John Baird of Thompson & Baird, Glasgow in 1880; he remained in this office for two years before leaving for South Africa in 1883. He arrived in Cape Town in March 1883, entering the office of Charles FREEMAN, architect and surveyor, in whose office he remained for seven years, for the last three of which he was chief assistant. He set up independent practice in Cape Town in about 1890. He married Susan Green (1871 – 1956) in 1892. In 1905 he admitted Alexander FORSYTH into partnership (cf PARKER & FORSYTH). While establishing his practice he hardly travelled but in 1902 he was 'on the continent for a month and a good deal about England and Scotland' (FRIBA nom papers 1902). Parker appears to have built up his practice from scratch, no competition wins launching him on his way. Apart from a few early houses for what seem to have been developers and speculators, Parker's first large commissions were for hoteliers in the early 1890s and hotels formed a significant element in his practice throughout his career. He had one of the largest practices in Cape Town for a period of about twenty years. He was a contemporary of Herbert BAKER in Cape Town and had an able partner in Forsyth. The Parker, Staniforth & Bieldt Collection of drawings now kept at the University of Cape Town show a high standard of draughtsmanship which provides a good indication of the strength of their conceptions.
Parker also played a part in local government, holding numerous appointments: he was elected a member of the Cape Town City Council in 1900 and during the Anglo-Boer War had been a Captain in the town guard; he continued to be a member of the city council until 1908, having been made a city father in 1905. He was elected first mayor of greater Cape Town in 1913, a post he held for two terms. Parker was Chairman of the Joint Committee of Cape Peninsula Water Supply, Vice-Chairman of the Cape Peninsula Municipal Union Conference and a member of the Council of the YMCA; one-time President of the Cape Town Caledonian Society as well as co-founder and the first president of the Cape Institute of Architects; he was also Chairman of the African Homes Trust and a founder member of the South African Society of Architects (SASA) in 1901. He died in Cape Town and was buried in the Woltemade Cemetery in Maitland. The City Council commissioned a portrait of Parker from Edward Roworth for the City Hall (AB&E Sep 1925:9). Parker's house, The Firs, in Rosebank, where he lived from 1898 until 1921 became the home of the artist Irma Stern, and is currently administered by the University of Cape Town as the Irma Stern Museum.
There is also a listing of this practitioner on the Dictionary of Scottish Architects.
(AB&E Sep 1925:9; Afr Archt May 1914:336; Afr Archt Jul 1914:7; Arch SA Jul/Aug 1985:42-9; Building Sep 1921: 520, obit; FRIBA nom papers (1902) 867; Jagger Jnl 4, Dec 1983; Lantern Sept 1983:14-7, article by E van Ryssen; Parker, Staniforth & Bieldt Gift, UCT Libr 729; SAA&B Mar 1905:122; SAWW 1908, 1910, 1916)
Publ: Artisans' dwellings, SAA&B May 1907:130; A new building, SAA&B Nov 1904:31; Real live organisation, Afr Archt Jun 1913:219. All truncated references not fully cited in 'References' are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon. List of projects With photographs
With notes
5 houses (9-17) for B Hudson, Highfield Terrace: 1890. Green Point, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Albion Hotel: n.d. : 1899 : 1937. Cape Town, Western Cape - Renovations architect 1899
| Atwell's Bakery: 1897. Simonstown, Western Cape - Architect
| B Levin and Co (Kodak Ltd): 1899. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Bliss Hall: 1904. Wellington, Western Cape - Architect
| Boys' High school: c1898. Beaufort West, Western Cape - Architect
| Britannia Hotel: 1894. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| British Hotel: 1897 : 1992. Simonstown, Western Cape - Architect
| Burmester’s Building: 1899. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Castle Wine and Brandy Co.: 1902 : 1904 : 1913 : 1937. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1902
| Central Hotel: 1900. Simonstown, Western Cape - Architect
| Civil Service Club: n.d. : 1897-1899. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1897 *
| Claremont Primary School: 1894 : 1901. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1894 *
| Cleghorn and Harris Department Store: 1896. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Congregational Church: 1895. Sea Point, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Cooper's Arms: n.d. : 1899. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect upgrades 1899
| Cowling's Hotel: 1901. Claremont, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Cradock school, gym: 1898. Cradock, Eastern Cape - Architect
| CT Jones Bldg: 1896. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| D Dix & Son: 1896. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Donald Bros: 1903. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| EW Duncan & Co: 1898 : 1902 : 1910. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Findlay and Co Building: 1893. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| First Class Boys' school: 1898. Paarl, Western Cape - Architect
| Forrest & Co Store: 1902. Rondebosch, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Garlick's Wholesale Warehouse: 1902. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Girls' School - Komani Museum: 1899. Komani (Queenstown), Eastern Cape - Architect
| Great Synagogue: 1903. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect *
| Green Hansom Hotel (was Imperial): 1901. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Gresham Buildings: n.d. : 1891. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1891 facade
| GS Withinshaw bldg: 1898. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Hansa Hotel - Manchester Hotel: 1901 : 1936. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1901
| Hebrew Public School, new classroom: 1899. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Hepworths Ltd Warehouse: 1903. Cape Town, Western Cape - Design Architect
| Heynes Mathew & Co, alt: 1894. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Heynes, Mathew & Co: 1894. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| HF Seale Building - Singer Sewing Machines: 1902. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| House Parker - Parker Cottage: 1892. Tamboerskloof, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| House Parker - The Firs - Irma Stern Museum: n.d. : 1898. Mowbray, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| House W Runciman, MLA: 1899. Simonstown, Western Cape - Architect
| House WM Cuthbert - Red House: 1903. Kenilworth, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Houses for J Foulds: 1891. De Waterkant, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Imperial Hotel: n.d. : 1892 : 1901. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Design Architect upgrades 1892 and 1901
| Irma Stern Museum: 1898. Rosebank, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| J and A Buchanan Factory: 1902. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| J Garlick Building: 1902. Woodstock, Western Cape - Architect
| J Garlick Store: 1902. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| J Garlick, stables & tenements: 1903. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| J Harrison, bldg: 1898. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Johannesburg Hotel: n.d. : 1896 : 1901. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| JR McKillop Bldg: 1893. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| JR McKillop Store: 1903. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Kokstad school: 1895. Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal - Architect
| Lutheran School: 1892. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Masonic Hotel: c1898. Beaufort West, Western Cape - Architect
| Masonic Hotel: 1898. Simonstown, Western Cape - Architect
| McKay's Shops and Residence: 1899. Simonstown, Western Cape - Architect
| Mechanics' Hotel: n.d. : 1892 : 1893. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1893 *
| Nova Scotia Hotel: n.d. : 1901. Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1901
| Observatory Girls' School: 1902. Observatory, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Oddfellows Hall, alt: 1896. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Old House at Home Hotel: n.d.: 1893 : 1910. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect upgrades 1893
| Philadelphia Public school: 1900 : 1913. Philadelphia, Western Cape - Architect
| Presbyterian Church: 1899. Mowbray, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Presbyterian Church: 1902. Gardens, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Presbyterian Church: 1899. Woodstock, Western Cape - Architect
| Presbyterian Church: 1902. Wynberg, Western Cape - Architect
| Presbyterian Church Hall: 1899. Green Point, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Presbyterian Church Manse: 1897. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Private school: 1896. Colesberg, Northern Cape - Architect
| Public School - Swartberg High School: 1897. Prince Albert, Western Cape - Architect
| Public school for Girls: 1879 : 1898. Beaufort West, Western Cape - Architect
| Rhenish School: 1904. Stellenbosch, Western Cape - Architect
| Rose and Crown Hotel: 1897. District Six, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Rose Hotel: 1896. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Royal Hotel, alt/adds: 1898. Wynberg, Western Cape - Architect
| Runciman's Building: 1800 : 1898. Simonstown, Western Cape - Architect 1898
| SA Mutual Life Assurance Society Building: c1902. Bloemfontein, Free State - Architect
| Sarsfield Hotel: n.d. : 1897 : 1905. District Six, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect upgrade 1897
| Sea Point Girls' High School - Ellerslie: 1900. Sea Point, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Shipley & Co: 1902. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Simon's Town High School: 1896. Simonstown, Western Cape - Architect
| Sir Garnet Hotel: 1895. District Six, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Somerset Strand Hotel for DP Rossouw: 1892. Strand, Western Cape - Architect
| South African College, ongoing adds/alts: 1898. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Spracklen's Building: 1897. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| St George's House: 1904. Cape Town, Western Cape - Design Architect
| Standard Hotel: 1897. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Station Hotel: pre 1889 : 1900 : 1901 : 1912. Newlands, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1900 : 1901 *
| T Maskew Miller: 1903. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Taymouth Castle Hotel: 1894. District Six, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Thatched Tavern, Old - Tavern Hotel: n.d. : 1899 : 1937. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect upgrade 1899
| Tivoli Theatre: 1901. Cape Town, Western Cape - Design Architect
| Townsend-Taylor and Snashall: 1904. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Tramway Inn: 1895. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Villa TE Lawton: 1894. Sea Point, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| W Cooke Bldg: 1901. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| W Jardine: 1903. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Waverley Hotel: 1897. Sea Point, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| Welcome Hotel: n.d. : 1897. District Six, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1897 upgrades
| Wesleyan Church: 1897. Sea Point, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| White House Hotel: 1896. Strand, Western Cape - Architect
| White House Hotel / Strand Apartments: n.d.: 1891: 1893 : 1900 : 1911 : 1927. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1891, 1893 *
| Whyte’s Buildings: 1910. Simonstown, Western Cape - Architect
| Withinshaw's Building: 1898. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| WM Cuthbert and Co Store: 1902. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| WM Cuthbert Building: 1901. East London, Eastern Cape - Architect
| WM Cuthbert Building: 1903. Woodstock, Western Cape - Architect
| Woodstock Hospital, Alterations: 1897. Woodstock, Western Cape - Architect
| Woodstock Hotel, rebuilt: 1904. Woodstock, Western Cape - Architect
| Wynberg Girls' High School: 1899. Wynberg, Western Cape - Architect *
| YMCA, alt/add: 1900. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect
| YWCA: 1902. Cape Town, Western Cape - Design Architect
|
Books citing PARKER Beck, Haig (Editor). 1985. UIA International Architect : Southern Africa (Issue 8). London: International Architect. pp 58
| Brown, SM. 1969. Architects and others: an annotated list of people of South African interest appearing in the RIBA Journal 1880-1925. Johannesburg: Unpublished dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand. pp
| CPIA Committee. 1983. The Buildings of Cape Town 1983 : Phase Two. Volume Three : Catalogue and Classification. Cape Town: Cape Provincial Institute of Architects. pp
| Crump, Alan & Van Niekerk, Raymund. 1988. Public sculptures & reliefs Cape Town. Cape Town: Clifton Publications. pp 28
| Fransen, Hans. 2004. The old buildings of the Cape. A survey of extant architecture from before c1910 in the area of Cape Town - Calvinia - Colesberg - Uitenhage. Johannesburg & Cape Town: Jonathan Ball Publishers. pp 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 57, 65, 69, 74, 80, 83, 87, 98, 100, 113, 116, 120, 130, 163, 179, 305
| HSRC. 1987. Dictionary of South African Biography Volume V. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council. pp 565-566
| Johnson, Brian Andrew. 1987. Domestic architecture at the Cape, 1892-1912 : Herbert Baker, his associates and his contemporaries. Cape Town: Unpublished Thesis UNISA. pp
| Martin, Desmond. 2007. Walking Long Street. Cape Town: Struik. pp 23, 45, 47, 57, 91, 96
| Parker, Howard. 2015. John Parker, 1866-1921 : architect and mayor of Cape Town. Wellington, New Zealand: Howard Parker. pp All
| Picton-Seymour, Désirée. 1977. Victorian Buildings in South Africa. Cape Town: AA Balkema. pp
| Picton-Seymour, Désirée. 1989. Historical Buildings in South Africa. Cape Town: Struikhof Publishers. pp 15, 17, 25, 80
| Radford, D. 1979. The architecture of the Western Cape, 1838-1901. A study of the impact of Victorian aesthetics and technology on South African architecture. Johannesburg: Unpublished Ph.D thesis. Dept of Arch. University of the Witwatersrand. pp
| Rennie, John for CPIA. 1978. The Buildings of Central Cape Town 1978. Volume Two : Catalogue. Cape Town: Cape Provincial Institute of Architects. pp
| SAWW & Donaldson, K (Ed.). 1920. South African Who's Who (Social, Business & Farming) 1919-1920 . Cape Town: Ken Donaldson. pp 154
| Walker, Michael. 2010. A Statement In Stone. Cape Town: Privately published by Michael Walker. pp 56-60
| Walker, Michael. 2012. Early architects of Cape Town and their buildings (1820 - 1926) with postcard illustrations, The. St James: Michael Walker. pp 76
| Walker, Michael. 2010. Simon's Town : An historical review with early postcard illustrations. Cape Town: Michael Walker. pp 48, 51, 53, 54, 55
| Walker, Michael. 2015. Old hotels of Cape Town (1890-1911), The : A history long forgotten, seldom told. St James: Published Privately. pp 6-8, 11-15, 63, 69, 71, 72
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