Recognising the value of Hazeldene Hall in Parktown, better known over the past decade as the Sir Herbert Baker Restaurant, one company has managed to restore one of the city's heritage assets
Neil Fraser
April 11, 2005
DRIVE west along St Andrews Road, Parktown, and on your left you can't help but notice the newly painted white wall proudly bearing new lettering spelling out 'Hazeldene Hall'.
Better still, before you get that far, turn left up York (just after the Sunnyside Park Hotel) then right into Ridge Road and look through the cast iron gates at the beautifully laid out English rose garden and the imposing refurbished elevation of Hazeldene Hall itself.
You probably would have known the building as home to the Sir Herbert Baker Restaurant over the last decade, although the name is something of an anomaly given that Herbert Baker didn't design the building! Joeys' history is full of such anomalies - it's a city of many fascinating stories involving equally fascinating characters.
Hazeldene Hall was designed by the somewhat intriguing partnership of Englishman Charles Aburrow and Australian Phillip Treeby. Aburrow wasn't an architect but actually an engineer who had in fact been Town Engineer of Johannesburg from May 1893 to 1901. He was evidently dismissed from this position during Lord Milner 'reconstruction of the town's civic affairs' period by one Lionel Curtis (of Milner's so-called 'kindergarten') - who incidentally became our first Town Clerk.
Aburrow's dismissal appears to have been on the basis of insinuations regarding his implication in 'corruption'. Probably wouldn't have happened under today's labour laws! His dismissal led to his entering into partnership with Phillip Treeby in 1902.
On paper, Aburrow certainly had an impressive CV, for over and above his Town Engineer position he was previously Chief Surveyor to the London and SA Exploration Company, a captain in the Diamond Fields Horse, the first President of the Institution of Civil Engineers and Life Member and also Chairman of the Wanderers Club in 1907.
'The Architects of Parktown'
However, he, as a member of one of the Wanderers' committees, voted against a petition to allow 'coloured' persons to watch matches played by a touring MCC side. The excellent publication by the Parktown & Westcliff Heritage Trust, "The Architects of Parktown - Aburrow & Treeby" records this chapter in the story as follows: "The love of Indian people for cricket, and the popularity of Ranjitisinghi amongst the English aristocracy and the whole cricketing public, had brought this issue to the fore. However, the prospect, despite separate entrances 'for the exclusive use of Coloured people', and the setting aside of a special portion of the field for their use, 'to prevent any intermingling of Coloured people with spectators of European descent' was too much for the committee of the time." Our colonial citizens of yesteryear would have done well in the AWB!
Phillip Treeby, the Aussie, was an architect who studied in Melbourne and started practicing in that city in the year that gold was discovered in Joburg.
Known in his home country for his 'voluminous output of designs' he was also involved in quite a good deal of controversy probably culminating in his decision to move to Johannesburg where he arrived in 1895. Controversy continued to dog him here, he evidently spied for the British, which caused him to flee South Africa - urban legend has it that his plumpness enabled a disguise as a nurse. Don't know about the beard! He returned following the British victory and some time later, in 1912, was elected President of the Transvaal Institute of Architects.
An avid punter he designed the grandstand for the Johannesburg Turf Club and also had some commissions from the Durban horseracing fraternity. It is suggested that his gambling on the gee-gees led to his many financial ups and downs.
The partners were credited with the design of a number of buildings individually, as was their partnership. In addition, both partners evidently also put their names to buildings designed by others - but supervised by themselves.
Of their commercial work, the Trades Hall in Rissik Street (a current example of demolition by neglect), Stuttafords (rumoured to be an Urban Ocean acquisition for high income apartments) Mosenthal's and the Kensington Sanatorium buildings survive.
They were responsible for a number of residential commissions either singly or in partnership and these included Hazeldene Hall, whilst Treeby had earlier designed the house known as The View next door to Hazeldene Hall on Ridge Road, Parktown.
Endearing part of Joburg's heritage
"While none of their buildings is a masterpiece they are eloquent of their time and an endearing part of our heritage," comments Leigh Jackson and William Martinson in the Parktown & Westcliff Trust publication.
The View was built in 1896 for Thomas Cullinan, and is described by Jackson and Martinson as 'an overgrown middle-class villa', a description Cullinan would probably have not been too chuffed about! Desiree Picton Seymour (Historical Buildings in South Africa) refers to it as "a large and opulent house in an up-and-coming neighbourhood... with none of the grace of Hazeldene Hall."
Friend and business partner of Cullinan, coal magnate Charles Jerome, had bought the next-door stand and his obvious choice for house design was the same architect and Hazeldene Hall was built in 1902.
Gerhard-Mark van der Waal (From Mining Camp to Metropolis) comments on this genre of housing "One cannot escape the impression that, during this period, a home was perceived as a paradox: an ambivalent whole. From whatever angle one considers the home of the time; it remains a composite of opposites. When one regards the contrasts as a continuum, one finds both subtle and extreme antitheses at the same time."
I haven't been able to find out for how long the buildings were used for residential purposes but I know that The View was refurbished as the home for the Transvaal Scottish in 1979 and that chef-patron Alan Gerson turned Hazeldene Hall into the Herbert Baker Restaurant in 1995. At that point in time it had been abandoned for some considerable time.
Gerson's previous Herbert Baker Restaurant was in an annex to a Herbert Baker house, also in Parktown, and when it was demolished, Gerson moved the restaurant complete with name to Hazeldene Hall.
Reflecting on the building Gerson said, "At the time (it was built) there wasn't much industry in Johannesburg. Most of the materials were shipped out from England. Structures were built "Meccano style" - everything from bricks to broekie lace imported and assembled on site. ... however odd the building method, the result is elegant and the ambiance gracious."
Last year the building was sold and Gerson moved to Bryanston where he opened The White Boy Shebeen. This new venture is a totally new direction for Gerson who is well known for the Les Marquis, The Fiddler, Dentons and of course the Herbert Baker. He evidently felt that the time had come for a totally new concept, "combining classic cuisine with examples of traditional and regional foods".
Hazeldene Hall's potential recognised
But back to Hazeldene Hall. It was bought last year, together with adjoining properties, by catering and event co-ordination company By Word of Mouth.
Recognising the potential of Hazeldene Hall they completely refurbished the building and planted a wonderful formal English Rose garden. The end result is a remarkable new venue for Joburgers that provides catering (not only at its home base), event management and a cookery school.
Last year, David Bullard in his 'Out to Lunch' column in the Sunday Times wrote, as only David Bullard can "I've lost count of the number of finger buffets I've attended over the years. Most are forgettable, with those ghastly tepid meatballs, bits of cold chicken and Vienna sausages swimming around in some obnoxious-looking fluid in a bain-marie. Oh yes, and the soggy samoosas.
"In Gauteng about the only people who have managed to transcend such mediocrity are By Word of Mouth catering who genuinely seem to want their clients to enjoy what they serve. The rest couldn't give a damn when you double up with pain as another toxic meatball launches a blitzkrieg on your peptic ulcer. The whole point of the food at most functions is to soak up the copious quantities of alcohol being served and so, the reasoning goes, it doesn't have to be very good."
So, a business venture that 'transcends mediocrity' has chosen to be right on the edge of the inner city where it has restored one of our dwindling number of heritage assets retaining it in the City's economic main-stream.
