The origins and evolution of UCT’s iconic upper campus

The University of Cape Town began as the South African College in 1829. The University was formally established in 1918; and from 1928 the construction of the original Groote Schuur campus buildings (now Upper Campus) was nearing completion, on land bequeathed to the building of a national University by Cecil John Rhodes.

The original buildings of the university at the Michaelis Campus were designed by Sir Herbert Baker. The later plans for the Groote Schuur campus between 1917 and 1928, were designed by Architects JM Solomon, later edited and refined by Hawke & McKinlay & Walgate, under the supervision of Sir Edwin Luytens. Collectively these buildings form the historic backbone of UCT’s upper campus. The construction of the Groot Schuur campus was fraught with setbacks and delays as well as financial constraints brought about by the great depression following the first world war.

The upper campus of UCT has undergone many updates and upgrades since that time.

Impact of the 2021 fire on UCT archives and recovery efforts

On 18 April 2021 a fierce fire spread from the slopes of Devils Peak and ravaged UCT’s upper campus and the Jagger Library in particular. The African Studies Library and reading room were completely gutted by the fire losing more than 80 000 books and archival documents, and the archives stored below were waterlogged. Emergency action was taken by UCT to evacuate the Special Collections. After the immediate recovery, UCT Special Collections formed the Salvage Recovery Project, and as part of this initiative, UCT libraries received funding towards the conservation and digitization of some of its most precious collections.

MEMORIST’s role in restoring UCT’s architectural collections

In April of 2022, MEMORIST was appointed to conserve and digitize several of UCT libraries most significant collections. The Herbert Baker collection was restored and digitized, and subsequently, the Hawke and Mckinlay collection. These collections both bear special relevance to UCT itself, as the work of these architects form the very foundation of the university campus. The MEMORIST Team have been meticulously cleaning and stabilising these architectural plans, fixing tears and removing harmful adhesives in order that these precious records continue to be preserved.

Ensuring future access to UCT archives through digitization

With UCT Special Collections still in the midst of a long-term recovery operation, many of its physical holdings are not readily accessible to researchers, the digitization initiative is therefore more important than ever. UCT Libraries and Memorist are happy that these important records are now digitally available to researchers upon request.

MEMORIST South Africa is both honoured and privileged to be working alongside UCT Libraries on this important task. Watch on YouTube to learn more about this project.