Contact Artefacts please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.	Menu Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon		Privates' Canteen, South African Mounted Riflemen Barracks Mthatha, Eastern Cape PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT: Architect

Date: 1914 Type: Mess Status: Extant   Click to view map Coordinates: 31°34'43.15" S 28°46'43.12" E

The Cape Mounted Riflemen (CMR) had their Headquarters in Mthatha, on a peninsular of land bounded by the Mthatha River. In 1914 the CMR was incorporated into the South African Mounted Riflemen (SAMR). The SAMR was disbanded in the late 1920's and the site subsequently became the Police Headquarters for the Police in the Transkei. The site is currently known as the SAPS Mthatha Police Complex. These extracts were scanned from a copy of an original working drawing titled: BUILDING No 8797, S.A.M.R. BARRACKS, UMTATA TRANSKEI, CAPE COLONY. Sheet No. 8. The drawing described a proposed Privates' Canteen comprising a wood-and-iron and plastered brick building to be 'built out of Canteen Funds'. The building included a Billiard Room (with a glazed clearstory window over the Billiard Table) and a Canteen and was to be provided with a hipped corrugated iron roof. The drawing also included a Block Plan showing the proposed Privates’ Canteen in relation to the following other buildings on the SAMR Barracks site: A: Old Hospital now Officers Mess B: Offices; C&D: Old Officers' Quarters now Hospital; E: Old Officers' Mess; F: (unidentified) G: Barracks, G1: Kitchen H: Old Artillery Store I: Stable J: Old NCO's Barracks K & L: Barracks M: Guard Room N: Saddlers Shop O: Magazine S: New Gunners' Mess T: New NCO Mess. The originator of the working drawing was recorded as follows: Public Works Dept., King William’s Town, 8.2.1916. DPW Plan Archive No: T4040/76/2 Submitted by William MARTINSON All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.