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Rhodes' Memorial, Rondebosch, 1925

 Item
Reference Code: GBR/0115/RCS/Y305E/5

Scope and Contents

190 x 138 mm. Showing the memorial to Rhodes built by Herbert Baker at the foot of Table Mountain: 'Spread across the rugged slopes of Table Mountain near Cape Town, to which he and Rhodes shared a romantic attachment, the memorial sought to recreate an isolated Greek temple, that of Segesta, on the coast of Sicily. Four stepped platforms, flanked by eight sphinx-like lions, lead up to the temple, which contains in the central niche of the back wall a large head of Rhodes. For the pedestal Kipling wrote a verse:

'The immense and brooding spirit still
Shall quicken and control
Living he was the land, and dead,
His soul shall be her soul.'

(Metcalf, 1980, pp. 9-10)

This memorial was the first major example of Baker's new vision of imperial architecture and was designed in 1905 after his return from a tour of the classical sites in the Mediterranean funded by Rhodes.








Dates

  • Creation: 1925

Conditions Governing Access

From the Fonds:

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Language of Materials

English

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Good condition.

Bibliography

Metcalf, Thomas R. (1980), Architecture and Empire, 'History Today', 30, December, pp. 7-12.

General

WS.

Finding aid date

2004-08-06 09:03:20+00:00

Includes index.

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
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Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom