Claremont, Cape Town
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Claremont is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated six miles south of the city, and is one of the so-called "Southern Suburbs". It is an important commercial and residential area, which is currently experiencing significant growth and development.
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[edit] History
Until the arrival of Dutch colonists in 1652, the Cape Peninsula was an untamed wilderness, where the nomadic Khoisan grazed their cattle. The Dutch established an outpost on the shore of Table Bay, and in 1657 they established a number of farms south of the outpost. The most southerly of those original farms, named Louwvliet and Questenburg, are today covered by Claremont and the adjoining suburb of Newlands.
The area was agricultural for about 150 years. Other estates that were established included Veldhuyzen in 1676, Stellenberg in 1697, Weltevreden (originally part of Stellenberg) in 1730, Sans Souci (originally part of Questenburg) in 1786, and The Vineyard in 1798. They produced grain and grapes, and some farmers made wine.
After the colony had been taken over by the British in 1814, the area gradually changed its character. British settlers and officials bought the farms, re-named some of them, and turned them into country residences. Weltevreden was subdivided in 1822, and a portion of it was renamed Claremont, a name later applied to the whole area.
The distinguished British astronomer Sir John Herschel put Claremont on the map by living at Feldhausen (formerly Veldhuyzen) from 1834 to 1838. A village began to develop, and by 1840 it had been named Claremont.
The village grew during the 1840s and 1850s, and the opening of a railway from Cape Town to Wynberg in 1864 spurred subdivision and development. In 1882, a village management board was formed, and in 1886 it was replaced by the Municipality of Claremont, which managed neighbouring Newlands too.
Claremont was a town in its own right until 1913 when, together with most of the Cape Peninsula municipalities, it was incorporated into the City of Cape Town. It remained predominantly residential until the early 1970s, when commercial development began. A major shopping mall, named Cavendish Square, was opened in 1973, and other shopping centres followed.
There was a further building boom in the 1990s, and the suburb is currently experiencing another, which includes the construction of three large apartment blocks, a hotel, two office blocks, the re-modeling of three other commercial buildings, and the construction of a transport interchange and a bypass road.
[edit] Schools
Similarly to the neighbouring suburb Rondebosch, Claremont is known for its many educational institutions. Schools and colleges in the area include:
- Grove Primary School
- Western Province Primary School [1]
- Claremont Primary School [2]
- Herschel Girls School
- Livingstone High School
- Batavia High School
- Abbotts College [3]
- Heritage College
- Cape Town School of English [4]
- Cape Town International School of Languages
- Adèle Beauty Therapy School
- Bel Porto School for Severely Mentally Handicapped [5]
- Cape Town School of Eurythmy [6]
- School of Practical Philosophy [7]
- Golden Grove Primary School
[edit] Claremont Main Road
Claremont Main Road is regarded by many as the clubbing capital of the Southern Suburbs. The road is dotted with clubs and bars and is a lively hotspot almost every night of the week. Bars on Clarement Main Road include Lizzards, Cubaña, Stones and Caps. Clubs on this road include Blu Bar, Tin Roof, Wadda, Springboks and Tiger Tiger.
Party-goers have affectionately nicknamed this party street:Monties, The Monte Carlo Stip, The Mont, Prawn Avenue, Montgomery's
[edit] See also
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