23 Facts About Herbert Baker

Sir Herbert Baker was an English 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.

Herbert Baker was born and died at Owletts in Cobham, Kent.

Herbert Baker 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.

In 1879 he was articled to his cousin Arthur Herbert Baker, embarking on the accepted pattern of architectural education comprising three years of apprenticeship and the attending of classes at the Architectural Association School and the Royal Academy Schools.

In 1891 Herbert Baker passed his examination for Associateship of the Royal Institute of British Architects and was awarded the Ashpitel Prize for being top of his class.

Herbert Baker worked initially for Ernest George and Harold Peto in London from 1882 to 1887, then opened his own office in Gravesend, Kent, in 1890.

Herbert Baker embarked for South Africa in 1892 ostensibly to visit his brother, and was commissioned in 1893 by Cecil Rhodes to remodel Groote Schuur, Rhodes' house on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, and the residence of South African Prime Ministers.

In South Africa, Herbert Baker first partnered with Masey and Sloper, from 1903 to 1907.

In 1904, he appointed Francis Leonard Fleming as his assistant, eventually becoming partners with Fleming in 1910 and working together until 1918, when Herbert Baker cut ties with the South Africa office.

Herbert Baker had the patronage of Lord Milner, and was invited to the Transvaal to design and build residences for the British living there.

Herbert Baker undertook work in widespread parts of the country including Durban, Grahamstown, King William's Town, Bloemfontein, George and Oudtshoorn, and even further afield in Salisbury, Rhodesia, where he designed the Anglican Cathedral and a house for Julius Weil, the general merchant.

In 1902, Herbert Baker left his practice at the Cape in the hands of his partner and went to live in Johannesburg, where he built Stonehouse.

Herbert Baker quickly became noted for his work, and was commissioned by a number of the "Randlords" to design houses, particularly in the suburbs of Parktown and Westcliff.

In 1909 Herbert Baker was commissioned to design the Government Building of the Union of South Africa in Pretoria.

The Union Buildings were completed in 1913, after which Herbert Baker left for New Delhi from where he returned home to England.

In 1912 Herbert Baker went to India to work with Lutyens, and went on to design the Secretariat Building in New Delhi and Parliament House, in New Delhi.

Herbert Baker designed the bungalows of Members of Parliament in New Delhi.

Herbert Baker designed the two Secretariat buildings flanking the great axis leading to what was then Viceroy's House, the palace of the Viceroy of India, now known as Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Herbert Baker had earlier designed the war memorial at Winchester College, influences for which he carried over to his work on Tyne Cot.

Sir Edward Grigg, Governor of Kenya from 1925 to 1931, invited Herbert Baker to visit Kenya in 1925.

Post the First World War, Herbert Baker worked on cemeteries in France including:.

Herbert Baker is credited for designing the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, and worked with architect Lytuens on the master plan of New Delhi in India.

Herbert Baker designed the cathedral in the Romanesque architectural style with round arches and round windows.