Ode to old Durban
THE STREET WILSON DRAWING COLLECTION
WILLIAM Street Wilson (1856-1928) was an English architect of extraordinary ability who settled in Durban in 1887. Working with various partners, he remained in this city until his death.
Wilson designed a wide variety of buildings, from simple cottages to imposing public institutions, churches, department stores and functional warehouses.
Most of his work is found in Durban, but his commissions also included the Pietermaritzburg City Hall and Railway Station, Lynton Hall and Botha House (both for the Reynolds sugar family), the Inchanga Hotel and the Dutch Reformed Church in Vryheid.
His surviving buildings in Durban include some of the most admired and beloved period buildings in the city.
Steeped in the tradition of the British Arts and Craft movement, Street Wilson quickly absorbed the vernacular of the Natal veranda house, but over the 40 years that he practised in Natal, he embraced many of the changes in society, technology and construction. His earliest cottages had outdoor privies and metal bathtubs in the kitchen; his later houses had an indoor toilet in the en-suite bathroom.
He gave the same professional attention to all his clients, whether a humble bootmaker in Seaview or a leading company like South African Breweries.
Some of his surviving buildings in Durban include Monaltrie, which was built for the Austrian consul in 1897 and the elegant Penshurst in 1904 – both since converted for business use – Maris Stella school, St Augustine’s sanatorium, the DLI Drill Hall, St Thomas’s Anglican Church, where he was a parishioner, the Durban Railway Station, alterations to the Royal Hotel and department stores for Stuttafords, Ansteys and Cuthberts.
There was at least one dissatisfied client: the Catholic Church. Soon after the completion of the Emmanuel Cathedral, the brickwork began to erode, a problem which has bedevilled the church ever since. When the church refused to pay Street Wilson’s professional fees, he sued for them.
The drawings which form the basis of this book are found in the Architecture Library of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Of the approximately 1 200 drawings, the authors have selected some of the best and most definitive of Street Wilson’s career.
In their preface, the authors comment on the sad irony that many of the paper and linen drawings have survived the very bricks and mortar of the buildings they represent.The publication of this book – in a small limited edition – has given a wider audience the opportunity to appreciate one of our most significant architects. The book can be obtained from Brian Kearney at 031 2011 471 or rebt@telkomsa.net.