Constantia, Cape Town

History

Constantia is one of the oldest districts of Cape Town and is famed for its wine. The estate of Groot Constantia (Dutch for Great Constantia) was established in 1685 by the Dutch Colonial Governor of Cape Town, Simon van der Stel.

Other notable wine farms in the area include the oldest estate, Steenberg (Dutch for Mountain of Stone), established in 1682, Buitenverwachting (Beyond Expectations), Klein Constantia (Small Constantia) and Constantia Uitsig (View of Constantia). Before the twentieth century, the region was noted for its exports of Vin de Constance; a sweet dessert wine. Many years ago the trade was crippled by the arrival in the Cape of a parasite that attacked the vines.

In 1661, during the Dutch conquest of Sumatra, Sheik Abdurachman Matebe Shah and his companion Sheikh Mahmoud were exiled to Constantia by the Dutch. Sheik Abdurachman is regarded as one of the three people that first brought Islam to South Africa. The kramat at Klein Constantia is built on the site that Sheik Abdurachman is thought to have died in 1681 or 1682.

About 220 slaves worked over a period of 150 years on the land planted with vineyards, fruit, and olive trees at the time of Van der Stel. A labour shortage after emancipation indicates that slaves moved away from the farms where they worked, but possibly stayed in the area.

From the mid-1800s to the 1960s, Constantia remained a rural area of wine estates in which Hottentot, Cape Malay, San and coloured residents constituted the majority. They were farmers, farm workers, domestics and fruit and flower sellers and lived in the areas of Strawberry Lane, Sillery Road, Spaanschemat River Road and Ladies Mile Road.

In 1961 Constantia was zoned as a "White Group Area" under the then-apartheid government's Group Areas Act. In the late 1960s, Constantia inhabitants classified as coloured or black were forcibly removed to areas in the Cape Flats like Mitchell's Plain, Manenberg, and Lotus River.

On Heritage Day 2009, a plaque remembering the Strawberry Lane community was unveiled by Cape Town's mayor Dan Plato.

In 2010, after around 50 years of petitioning, the Solomon family won one of the most successful land claim cases in South Africa's history, and received their Constantia property back with a title deed in 2012. The land was taken from them under the Group Areas Act, and at the time, had 30 houses on it, and the family used it as a thriving agricultural plot.

It comprised Lots 10 and 11 of a farm once known as Sillery, which sit in a prime location along Ladies Mile Road, close to the M3, and at the time they won the case with the Land Claims Commission, was estimated to be worth tens of millions of rands.

In 2018, the Constantia Ratepayers' and Residents' Association (CRRA), a homeowners' association, took the Solomon Family Trust to court, stating that the shopping center did not match the look and feel of Constantia as it was unattractive, and too large. The family decided to go ahead with their plans anyway, and the City of Cape Town Municipal Planning Tribunal (MPT) approved the planning application.

The CRRA then appealed, but this was rejected by then-Mayor Patricia de Lille, and to the satisfaction of the Solomons, construction went ahead as planned, turning the site into a building that has won multiple architectural awards - what is now the upmarket shopping center, Constantia Emporium.

Mark Thatcher, the son of Margaret Thatcher, and Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana, both lived in Constantia. Mark's house is now owned by the Sahara Group. The historic Tarrystone House, once owned by Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer was listed for sale at R80 million.

Wine

The area is a major tourist hub. Constantia is a well-known wine-producing area and one of the oldest in the southern hemisphere. It is home to at least ten wine farms, eight of which are included in an official wine route. Numerous operators offer tours of the Constantia wine route where visitors can take part in wine tastings at the farms.

In addition to wine, many Constantia estates also include fine dining restaurants offering both local and international fare. Many of the homesteads along the wine route display Baroque and Cape Dutch architectural styles.

Education

Schools

• Norman Henshilwood High School
• American International School of Cape Town
• Constantia Primary School
• Constantia Waldorf School
• Reddam House Constantia
• The Cape Academy of Maths, Science and Technology

Coat of arms

The Constantia Valley Local Council, which existed from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, registered a coat of arms at the Bureau of Heraldry in October 1992.

The arms were : Argent, an eagle displayed Sable, charged on the breast with an hour glass in fess Or; a chief nowy gabled Gules. The crest was a silver demi-stag with golden antlers and black wings emerging from a red mural crown. The motto was Terra hereditas nostra.

References

References

1. Sum of the Main Places [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041052 Constantia Heights], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041053 Alphen], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041069 Bel Ombre], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041070 Witteboomen], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041071 Glen Alpine], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041072 Eagles Nest], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041073 Constantia], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041074 Silverhurst], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041075 Rust-En-Vrede], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041081 Barbarossa], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041083 Deurdrif], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041084 The Vines (Constantia)], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041087 Belle Constantia], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041088 Graylands], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041089 Constantia Village], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041090 Constantia Vale], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041091 Sillery], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041092 Huis-In-Bos], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041093 Hope of Constantia], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041094 Nova Constantia], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041095 Airlie], [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041096 Fir Grove] and [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199041097 Sweet Valley] from Census 2011.
2. "Cape Postal Codes of South Africa". Post.
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4. (8 February 2019). "City of Cape Town Open Data Portal - Official Planning Suburbs". The City of Cape Town.
5. Elizondo, Lauren. (24 August 2013). "Why You Should Know About South Africa's Western Cape Winelands". Dream Plan Go.
6. {{cite EB1911
7. MobileReference. (2010). ["Travel South Africa Illustrated Guide & Maps."](https://books.google.com/books?id=noSXhms35NcC&q=Constantia+was+established+in+1684&pg=PT5}}{{Dead link). MobileReference.com.
8. "Constantia's out-of-town feel". Property24.
9. Mountain, Alan. (2005). "An unsung heritage". David Philip.
10. Simone Haysom, Constantia to Grassy Park: blamelessness and belonging, in Historical Approaches, vol. 5, 2007, p. 64.
11. Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, Forced removals: A case study on Constantia, p. 26.
12. Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, Forced removals: A case study on Constantia, p. 13.
13. Natasha Prince, Plaque unveiled on Heritage Day, Cape Argus, 25 September 2009.
14. (5 December 2019). "Constantia Emporium now open". Lion's Eye.
15. "Constantia Emporium Launch – Patricia de Lille". Patricia de Lille.
16. Admin. (17 January 2019). "Family Trust opens centre". AWQAF ZA.
17. (25 May 2022). "SVA – Constantia Emporium". SVA International.
18. (13 January 2005). "Thatcher fined over 'coup plot'". [[BBC News]].
19. (16 December 1998). "Lightning hits earl's home". South China Morning Post.
20. Brick, Darryn. "LUXURIOUS CONTANTIA VILLA WITH HOLLYWOOD APPEAL BOASTS MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES". Claremart Auctions.
21. "Wine Farms in the Constantia Valley". Cape Peninsula Marketing.
22. "Wine Farms".
23. "[http://aisct.org/ Home]" (). [[American International School of Cape Town]]. Retrieved on August 8, 2015. "42 Soetvlei Avenue Constantia 7806 South Africa"
24. http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za{{dead link. (November 2016)