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		House Spencer - 'Chilterns' Constantia, Western Cape BAKER and KENDALL: Architect

Date: c1913 Client: Francis H. Spencer Type: Homestead Style: Cape Dutch Revival : Arts and Crafts Status: Extant but altered Street: Off Klaassens Road

J.B. Taylor writes in his memoirs that, after his return to South Africa, "... I decided to settle at Wynberg, where I bought the property known as 'The Chilterns' from my old friend Frank Spencer, who had established a vineyard for the exportation of grapes." English-born Francis Henry Spencer (1853-1943) was active in the Transvaal mining industry, and was involved in the Jameson Raid in 1895-96. He bought this 20-hectare property (a portion of the historic farm Alphen) in June 1911. At that time, it was evidently regarded as an extension of Wynberg Park, but today it is in Constantia. The vineyard is evidently still thriving. A 2023 photo of the house (facebook) shows considerable alterations and additions since the photo in Taylor's book was taken, but the left-hand gable with its tall window and circular opening, the chimney above it, the central turret/dormer window, the verandah on the right-hand side and the bow window above it are still recognisable. (Arthur Radburn, February 2026) References: Taylor, JB & Webber, Henry O'Kelly (Compiler) . 1939. A Pioneer looks back. London: Hutchinson and Co. pg 193