Herbert Baker
| Sir Herbert Baker | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
9 June 1862 Cobham, Kent, England |
| Died | 4 February 1946 (aged 83) Cobham |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | India House, London, Glyn, Mills & Co., South Africa House, Monteviot House,Union Buildings Pretoria, St John's College, Johannesburg, Wynberg Boys School |
Sir Herbert Baker KCIE FRIBA RA (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was a British architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He was born and died at Owletts in Cobham, Kent.
Among the many churches, schools and houses he designed in South Africa are the Union Buildings in Pretoria, St. John's College, Johannesburg, the Wynberg Boys' High School, Groote Schuur in Cape Town, and the Champagne Homestead and Rhodes Cottage on Boschendal, between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. With Edwin Lutyens he was instrumental in designing, among other buildings, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament and North and South Blocks of the Secretariat, all in New Delhi, which in 1931 became the capital of the British Raj and later of the Republic of India. He also designed the administration building at the then Prince of Wales School in Nairobi, Kenya now known as Nairobi School. His tomb is in Westminster Abbey.
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 in Kent. 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.
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