The Old Granary
One of Cape Town’s oldest and most storied buildings.
Living Legacy
Living Legacy
The Old Granary has retained its architectural integrity while being retro-fitted to suit the needs of a modern foundation and its work. After having been declared a provincial heritage site in 2017, The Foundation took occupation of the Old Granary in 2018.
One of Cape Town’s oldest and most storied buildings, presumably built by slaves and strongly associated with the setting down of colonial roots, has undergone a physical and spiritual metamorphosis to become the new home of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.
The Receding Tide
When first developed, the Granary occupied space close to the then-Table Bay shoreline. Today, due to land reclamation, Table Bay has been pushed back and the Castle and Old Granary are relatively far from the sea.
Early paintings and sketches of the Granary place it in relatively open space, a stone’s throw from the Grand Parade, where slaves were sold in 1658 and a newly-liberated Nelson Mandela first addressed the nation in 1990.
Anton Anreith, Herman Shutte (both German) and Louis Thibault (French) conceived and developed the neo-classical Old Granary in 1814.
Anreith, an artist and master sculptor, was primarily responsible for the sculptures adorning the building
Schutte, a master builder, surveyor and architect became the Granary’s inspector (also responsible for the Mouille Point Lighthouse)
Thibault, an engineer, architect and surveyor, was believed to be responsible for the design of the Granary through Anreith’s involvement at the Customs House.
Fabric of the building: Neo-classical meets Cape-Dutch
The Old Granary
The Granary provided a suitably officious backdrop for important public announcements, such as election results.
The façade statues are that of Neptune and Britannia, god of the sea and personification of Great Britain, respectively. The central design on the pediment is a carved British coat-of-arms straddled by a Scottish unicorn and English lion. Above and beneath the coat-of-arms are the French phrases: Dieu at mon droit (God and my right), motto of the British monarch, and Honi soit qui mal y pense (Evil to him who evil thinks), the motto of the British Chivalric Order of the Garter. The date on the pediment is 1814.
Re-imagining Space
The Foundation and City agreed to a restoration philosophy that re-imagined existing space, as far as possible, rather than breaking things down and starting from scratch.
Walls of glass are used to create office and archiving accommodation, maximising natural light and enabling one to visualise the original sizes and shapes of the building. Suitable environmental control and lighting technologies are retro-fitted without interfering with the building’s original structural integrity.
Once a former women’s prison, it had been described by one of the women held captive there as a “…den of infamy”. The building is now a beacon of hope. The building mirrors South Africa’s complex history, and it can now be seen as a place of healing with the Foundation as well as the exhibition calling it home.
Modern exhibition spaces have been created, framed by old brick walls and curious windows and entrance ways and a modern glass walkaway.
Re-imagining Space
“But it was only on hearing about the Old Granary’s rich and chequered past, that I realised that this too was a home with many rooms…
We want to use this building, so rich with South Africa’s history of strife and division, to make visible the compassion and dignity needed by our country – and all people of the world – to make global peace a daily reality.”
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
07 October 1931 – 26 December 2021
The Old Granary
Building Timeline
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Jan 1, 1809 9:29 am1809
Original core of Granary Building built by baker, Jacob Hendricks. Sold in 1813 to colonial government for significant profit.
Jan 1, 1814 9:30 am1814 – 1820Customs House: imports/exports handled; including redistribution of liberated slaves from oceanic slave trade.
Jan 1, 1819 9:31 am1819Town Granary housed in building to supplement shortage of grain.
Jan 1, 1820 11:49 am1820 – 1922Resident Magistrate’s Court.
Housed public offices in front.Jan 1, 1827 11:50 am1827House of Correction: prison for women who were passengers aboard Gentoo ship assumed to be involved in prostitution and unsavoury activities aboard the ship.
Jan 1, 1833 11:50 am1833Civil Engineer’s Offices
Jan 1, 1895 11:51 am1895Public Works Department
Jun 29, 1922 2:44 pm1922Court functions removed and remained Public Works Department
Jun 29, 1994 2:44 pm1994Transfer of the Old Granary Building from Public Works Department to Cape Town Municipality
Jun 29, 2014 2:45 pm1994 – 2014Fell into disrepair
Jun 29, 2015 2:45 pm2015Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation sign formal lease agreement with City of Cape Town for 40-year occupancy