BUY A PIECE OF HISTORY
Kensington residents live in and among houses built in the early 1900s, and an increasing number of younger people have moved in to create a rich and diverse cultural mix
BUILT in the early 1900s, Kensington is one of Joburg’s earliest suburbs and is much loved by heritage and history buffs. The suburb has held on to a reputation as a bastion of cultural intermingling. Lately, younger residents have settled here in larger numbers and are making the population more demographically mixed.
With about 5000 homes, Kensington is also one of Joburg’s biggest neighbourhoods.
Michelle Sumner, of Keller Williams Clockwork Realty, says: “A huge increase in the number of young people is contributing to making the suburb culturally and demographically diverse.”
She cites the main pull factors as nearness to the Joburg CBD, the availability of good schools and proximity to main routes.
“Public transport is easily available and the suburb is central to the N1 to Sandton and Pretoria and the N3 to the south of Joburg.”
Schools that make this suburb to the east of Joburg sought after include Jeppe High School for Girls and Jeppe High for Boys, built in 1909 and designed by Sir Herbert Baker.
“Kensington is rich in heritage due to the many homes built during that era. There are many Bakerstyled homes and residences that exhibit the designs of early Joburg, reflecting Edwardian, Victorian and colonial-era architectural flair,” says Sumner. “Inside you will find steelpressed ceilings, wooden floors, broad skirting boards, picture rails and bay windows with wooden window frames.
“Residents have added to this by putting in lead glass French doors or hanging lead glass lamps. Homeowners and buyers are also renovating kitchens and bathrooms. This makes these properties unique to a discerning buyer who can appreciate heritage and the era in which the homes were built.”
The property portfolio is just as diverse and homeowners can buy a single or double stand with granny cottages and outside dwellings, says Sumner.
A freehold house can cost anything from R850000 to R2.9million, and sectional title homes average