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This is the final post on Jeppe and Belgravia before moving a few blocks north up to Fairview (or Fawcus Township as it was originally known) and really a chance to post some mixed and fascinating pictures of various examples of houses, buildings, and general views that didn’t fit into the previous Jeppe & Belgravia posts. Some structures are still standing while others are long gone.
First, I found a book by Carl Jeppe called ‘The Kaleidoscopic Transvaal’ that can be downloaded here in PDF format. It was originally printed and published in 1906 and is now in the public domain. It’s an interesting read, especially on the pre-history of Johannesburg and the people and struggles after the discovery of gold and the events leading up to the Anglo-Boer War. Carl Jeppe (1858-1933) was the older brother of Sir. Julius Jeppe. They originally settled in Pretoria before getting involved in early Johannesburg. Later, Carl had a Herbert Baker designed house in Wynberg called Trovato at 44 Coach Road built in 1899-1902. He presumably used it when he was appointed Consul-General for the Transvaal in Cape Town.

The house is now a national monument.
Belgravia
In December 2020, I read David Cohen’s book ‘People who have stolen from me’ which centred around a business in Jules Street on the Malvern side. It reminded me that I had not looked at the Belgravia part of Jules Street for this post. The most notable exclusion was the Belgravia Hotel.
Records show that the current Belgravia Hotel building was built in 1904. The owner was listed as S. Davis and the architects were Phipps-Coles and Koskins. Records show the current building was built in 1904. Sharon Caldwell informed that her great-grandfather was the proprietor of the hotel before the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War. He was ejected from the republic by the Boers and the original hotel was demolished. Will share more info as it surfaces.






Jeppestown








I grew up at 187 Jules Street Belgravia across the road from the One Day Dry Cleaners, between Princess and McDonald streets, moved to the southern suburbs of Johannesburg towards the end of 1969, Belgravia was an already rundown suburb back then but seeing some of the pictures taken around 2013 it breaks my heart to see such degradation of this once working class neighborhood, unfortunately we never owned a camera else I would have photos of the area, do you know where one can see photos of Belgravia only, of the parks and schools in the area, attended Malvern West Primary School and then Malvern High School, would love to visit the old neighborhood but I don’t drive and I don’t own a car either, at nearly 62 I think I would be a menace on the roads.
Hi Linda, thanks for reading and for your history. When I’m not able to visit an area (or have missed something while there) I often use Google Street View to cruise the streets. The images are between 6 and 2 years old so pretty accurate. Sadly, some of the areas are dangerous to visit or hang around and take pictures in. Google maps has helped enormously with my work.