Woutersen Vault Green Point, Cape Town, Western Cape Architect: Herman SCHUTTE Architect Restoration 1991: RENNIE and GODDARD ARCHITECTS

The burial vault viewed from Bertrand Rd. On the side is a “Private Property” notice board erected by SAHRA (SA Heritage Resources Agency). Photographer: Lila Komnick – 2018

Date: pre-1827 : 1991 Type: Burial Vault Style: Neo-Classical Status: Extant Street: Corner of Bertrand and Wessels Rds

Coordinates: 33°54'43.47" S 18°24'45.50" E Alt: 57m

Notes: Also referred to as the Pieter Woutersen Vault. The plaque on the front façade reads: GRAFSTEDE Van Wylen PIETER WOUTERSEN Gebooren te Vlissingen in Zeeland den 25 January 1772 Overleeden aan Kaap de Goede Hoop den 20 December 1827 Among the buyers of land at Green Point in 1815 was Pieter Woutersen. He built the tomb, which is attributed to Schutte, in the 1820s, and was buried there in 1827. His widow, Maria de Villiers, later married Johan Joachim Smuts. After her death a freehold grand of a little over eleven morgen was made, in 1858, to Smuts and to his deceased wife’s son by her first marriage, P H Woutersen. The tomb, in which several other members of the family were buried, stands on this piece of land. (Fransen et al. 1965: 21) It was erected in 1827 by the widow of Peter Woutersen. His granddaughter married Jacobus Christoffel Wessels, whose son, Sir John Wessels, became Chief Justice of South Africa. Various members of the family lived on the estate. Some prominent citizens have been buried here, inter alia Adv. M. L. Wessels, brother of Sir John Wessels, former Chief Justice of the Union. Because the vault had been broken into by thieves who stole the ornaments of the coffins and other valuables, the great iron door of the vault was eventually permanently sealed. Consequently, the last member of the family who died on the estate was buried outside the vault. The neo-classical style of the vault is very confidently ascribed to the well-known master builder Herman Schutte. The structure stands directly in line with the entrance to the old Victoria Basin of the docks. On some old charts it is marked as a landmark for the guidance of ships entering the docks. Bibliography archive: Langham-Carter MS:23 ; Rennie & Goddard Architects "Restoration of the Woutersen-Wessels Vault for the National Monuments Council" April 1991. It was declared a national monument in 1961 (Gazette No 6664, 14/04/1961). It is now a provincial heritage site. (SAHRIS, accessed 2020 07 13)

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Front façade with plaque and decorative bricks arch. Photographer: Lila Komnick – 2018 Close-up of plaque with Pieter Woutersen information. Photographer: Lila Komnick – 2018 The burial vault viewed from High Level Rd. Photographer: Lila Komnick – 2020 The burial vault viewed from High Level Rd with the single grave next to it. Photographer: Lila Komnick – 2020