Bertram House

Bertram House, on Hiddingh Campus, is the last surviving example of Georgian architecture in Cape Town, an unpainted two-storey red brick house.  The land on which the house sits was purchased by John Barker, an attorney from Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, in 1839 and he built the house between then and 1854.  He named the house after his wife Ann Bertram Findlay, who had died in 1838.  It was later purchased by the University of Cape Town, which used it as an office from 1903 to 1930.  It then became state property and was handed over to the South African Cultural History Museum in 1976.  Bertram House was restored between 1983 and 1984 and then opened as a museum.  It contains a collection of Georgian furniture and English and Chinese porcelain belonging to Anne Lidderdale (1882-1977).  Beadwork and postage stamps are also exhibited.  Bertram House is extensively used for book launches and concerts.