- published: 08 Mar 2013
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Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 in Cobham, Kent – 4 February 1946 in Cobham, Kent) was a British architect.
Baker was the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, 1892–1912.
Among the many churches, schools and houses he designed in South Africa are the Union Buildings Pretoria, St John's College, Johannesburg, Wynberg Boys School, Cape Town and Groote Schuur - Rhodes' remodelled house on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town and the Champagne Homestead and Rhodes Cottage on the historic seventeenth century estate Boschendal, between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch.
With Edwin Lutyens he was instrumental in designing New Delhi. His tomb is in Westminster Abbey.
Born on the family farm Owletts near Cobham, Kent, in England, the fourth son of nine children of Thomas Henry Baker and Frances Georgina Davis, Herbert was from the outset exposed to a tradition of good craftsmanship, preserved through isolation in the neighbourhood of his home. As a boy, walking and exploring the historical ruins found in the area were his favourite pastimes. Here he observed and learned to appreciate the time-honoured materials of brick and plaster, and the various aspects of timber use, especially in roof construction—tie-beam and arch-braced collar-beam trusses. He was profoundly influenced by the stone construction used in Norman cathedrals and Anglo-Saxon churches, as well as the ornamentation and symbolism of the Renaissance buildings in Kent. This early influence is apparent in the churches, schools and houses he later designed in South Africa.
Actors: Sol Kaplan (composer), Geoffrey Keen (actor), Angela Martelli (miscellaneous crew), Nigel Davenport (actor), Carl Foreman (miscellaneous crew), Carl Foreman (producer), Susan Hampshire (actress), Edward Judd (actor), Hubert Wells (miscellaneous crew), Marion Gray (miscellaneous crew), Millard Kaufman (writer), Charles Hayes (actor), Jack Couffer (director), Cheryl Shawver (miscellaneous crew), Paul B. Radin (producer),
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Family,