Somerset West

File:Somerset West 1909.jpg

A cattle post was established here{{clarify|date=June 2022}} by Dutch soldiers in 1672.

A town developed around the Lourens River (originally "Tweederivier", which means "Second River"; "Eersterivier", meaning "First River" passes through Stellenbosch, some {{cvt|16|km}} to the north) and the farm of Vergelegen (Dutch: "remotely situated"), an 18th-century farmhouse built in the historic Cape Dutch style by Willem Adriaan van der Stel, governor of the Cape and son of Simon van der Stel, who gave his name to the nearby town of Stellenbosch. Willem Adriaan was later sent back to Holland after being charged with corruption and cruelty towards local Dutch farmers. The farm is now owned by a subsidiary of the large mining company Anglo American, who have restored the farmhouse to its original magnificence and continue to produce some of South Africa's best wines there.{{Citation needed|date=November 2015}} The farm is open to tourists.

Somerset West was founded in 1822 on part of the historic farm, Vergelegen.{{cite book|author=Sandra Olivier|title=Touring in South Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urN9XqmQ_RUC&pg=PA30|access-date=2013-09-20|year=2005|publisher=Struik|isbn=978-1-77007-142-1|page=30}} The town was named Somerset after a British governor of the Cape Colony during the 1800s, Lord Charles Somerset, with the suffix 'West' being added after 1825 to differentiate it from Somerset East, another South African town in the Eastern Cape. In the 1830s, Sir Lowry's Pass, named after later governor Sir Lowry Cole, was constructed to link the town with outposts further east over the Hottentots-Holland mountains.

In the 1960s, the AECI factory between Somerset West and Strand was the second largest dynamite factory in the world.{{cn|date=June 2022}}

Somerset West is located on the N2 about {{convert|45|km|mi|sigfig=1|abbr=}} east of Cape Town and {{convert|20|km|mi|sigfig=1|abbr=}} kilometres south of Stellenbosch. The town borders Strand and Gordon's Bay and is overlooked by the Helderberg Mountain (meaning "clear mountain"), a part of the Hottentots-Holland range of mountains. The Hottentots-Holland mountains surround Somerset West in an amphitheatre shape.

Somerset West includes more than 65 suburbs covering a large area of 61.37 square kilometres within its administrative boundaries, extending from the satellite areas of Firgrove to the west and Sir Lowry's Pass Village to the east. It includes the following suburbs:{{Cite web |title=Census 2011: Main Place: Somerset West |url=https://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199045 |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=census2011.adrianfrith.com}}

• Andas Estate
• Bel' Aire
• Bene
• Bergaio
• Boskloof Eco Estate
• Braeview
• Bridgebank
• Bridgewater
• Briza
• Canwick
• Carey Parks
• Cherrywood Gardens
• Chris Nissen Village
• Croydon
• Dennegeur
• Die Wingerd
• Dorhill
• Erinvale Golf Estate
• Fairview Heights
• Firgrove (incl. Firgrove Rural)
• Fraai Gelegen
• Garden Village
• Golden Acre
• Golden Hill
• Greenway Rise
• Haumannshof
• Helderberg
• Helderberg Estate
• Helderberg Rural
• Helderberg Village
• Helderrand
• Heldervue
• Helderzicht
• Helena Heights
• Heritage Mews
• Heritage Park
• Illaire
• Jacques Hill
• Jonkershoogte
• Kalamunda
• La Concorde
• La Montagne
• La Sandra
• Land en Zeezicht
• Lionviham
• Longdown Estate
• Lynn's View
• Martinville
• Montclair
• Monte Sereno
• Morningside
• Natures Valley
• Olive Grove
• Paardevlei
• Parel Vallei
• Pearl Marina
• Radloff Park
• Rome Glen
• Roundhay
• Shady Glen
• Sir Lowry's Pass Village
• Somerset Ridge
• Spanish Farm (incl. Spanish Farm Ext 1)
• Steenbras View
• Steyn's Nest
• Stuart's Hill
• The Vines
• Victoria Park
• Westridge
• Zandberg

Owing to its regional status and central location, Somerset West has become the major retail hub for the Helderberg, Stellenbosch and the Overberg regions. Somerset Mall, situated alongside the N2 freeway serves as the largest shopping centre in the Helderberg region. A number of other local retail shopping centres can be found in the town's suburban areas such as Helderberg Mall, Somerset Value Centre, The Sanctuary, Waterstone Village Shopping Centre, Vergelegen Plein and Sitari Village Mall.{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://somersetvaluecentre.co.za/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Somerset Value Centre |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=The Sanctuary Shopping Centre {{!}} Somerset West {{!}} Tranquil & Convenient |url=https://thesanctuary.co.za/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=The Sanctuary Shopping Centre |language=en-ZA}}{{Cite web |title=Helderberg Centre « HEYSHOPS.CO.ZA |url=https://heyshops.co.za/0322181/Helderberg_Centre |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=heyshops.co.za |language=en-ZA}}{{Cite web |title=Waterstone Village {{!}} Helderberg {{!}} An Extraordinary Shopping Experience |url=https://www.waterstonevillage.co.za/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Waterstone Village |language=en-ZA}}{{Cite web |title=Vergelegen Plein Shopping Centre |url=http://www.vergelegenplein.co.za/#contact-us |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=www.vergelegenplein.co.za}}

Somerset West offers several tourist attractions due to its position on the Hottentots-Holland mountains and between the Cape Winelands and the nearby beaches of Strand and Gordon's Bay.

Somerset West forms part of the Helderberg Wine Region which is a wine-producing sub-region of the greater Stellenbosch Wine Region. Helderberg includes wine estates such as include 96 Winery, Alto, Audacia, Annandale, Cavalli, Ernie Els, Grangehurst, Guardian Peak, Haskell, Hidden Valley, Idiom, Ken Forrester, Klein Welmoed, Le Riche, Longridge, Lourensford, Lyngrove, Miravel, Morgenster, Peter Falke, Post House, Somerbosch, Uva Mira, Vergelegen, Vergenoegd and Waterkloof.

The most popular and nearest wine estates amongst the many surrounding Somerset West are Vergelegen and Lourensford. The Vergelegen Wine Estate lies on the border of Somerset West, spanning into the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve. The buildings on the estate constitute fine examples of Cape Dutch architecture.

The Lourensford Wine Estate which neighbours the Vergelegen Wine Estate features the Lourensford Market{{cite web|url=https://www.lfhm.co.za/ |title=Lourensford Market |website=www.lfhm.co.za |access-date=5 June 2022 }} and a Sports car museum known as MOTOR Studio.{{cn|date=June 2022}}

Every December, the town has a display of Christmas lights erected atop the street lights of the Main Road. The Helderberg Lights Festival (aka the Strawberry Festival), a flea market and parade, normally complements these lights.

The Helderberg Nature Reserve,{{cite web|url=http://www.helderbergnaturereserve.co.za/|title=Helderberg Nature Reserve website}} a 363 hectare natural wildlife preserve opened in 1964, contains a wide variety of smaller fauna (small antelope, tortoises and other reptiles) and indigenous flora such as Protea and fynbos.

In recent years{{when?|date=June 2022}} many guest houses and B&Bs have opened up in Somerset West, since it is conveniently located for Cape Town ({{convert|45|km|mi|abbr=}} away on the N2 motorway), the beaches at the Strand and Gordon's Bay, and the Western Cape's numerous wine farms.

In recent years, there has been a population boom in Somerset West with various secure or gated estates such as Sitari Country Estate, Croydon Vineyard and Olive Estates and Kelderhof Country Village being built on previously undeveloped land west of the town, gradually closing the little break isolating Somerset West from the rest of the metropolitan area. Paardevlei, south of the town, is an emerging mixed-use development comprising gated residential complexes and the Busamed Paardevlei Private Hospital.{{Cite web |title=Sitari Country Estate {{!}} Live in the Helderberg's Most Iconic Estate |url=https://sitari.co.za/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Sitari Country Estate |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Kelderhof Country Village {{!}} Home |url=https://www.kelderhof.co.za/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=www.kelderhof.co.za}}{{Cite web |title=WELCOME |url=https://www.croydonvineyardestate.com/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=CroYdon Vineyard Estate |language=en-ZA}}{{Cite web |title=Busamed Paardevlei Private Hospital |url=https://www.busamed.co.za/paardevlei/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Busamed Paardevlei Private Hospital |language=en-US}}

The town has a range of primary and secondary educational facilities.

Primary schools

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• Somerset West Primary School
• Somerset House
• Somerset College
• Somerset West Private School
• Helderberg Primary School
• De Hoop Primary
• Beaumont Primary
• International School of Helderberg
• Danie Ackerman Primary School
• Reddam House Somerset
• Newberry Montessori School
• Curro Primary School

{{end div col}}

High schools

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• Hottentots Holland High School
• Parel Vallei High School
• Somerset College
• Somerset West Private School
• Helderberg High School
• International School of Helderberg
• Gordon High School
• Reddam House Somerset
• The Mayor Matthews Institution for Excellence
• Christian Kotzé

{{end div col}}

Higher Education

• Helderberg College of Higher Education

Somerset West lies on the Strand Line (a branch line of the Northern Line), connecting its two railway stations: Somerset West and Van der Stel. The Strand service operated by Metrorail runs westwards to Cape Town (via Kuilsrivier and Bellville) and eastwards to Strand.

The N2 is the main route through Somerset West connecting Cape Town with Grabouw and George. The N2 W (in the direction of Cape Town) from the R102 on the outskirts of the town runs as a dual-carriage freeway while the N2 E (in the direction of George) runs as an at-grade road. Running north-west to Kuilsrivier, the R102 (Strand Road) is an older section of the N2 and the old main road between Cape Town and Somerset West. The R44 (Broadway Boulevard) connects to Stellenbosch in the north and Kleinmond in the south-east (via Strand and Gordon's Bay).

The town is also intersected by four metropolitan routes connecting it to surrounding suburbs such as the M9 (Main Road; Sir Lowry's Pass Village Road) connecting to Macassar in the west and Sir Lowry's Pass Village in the east, the M149 (Victoria Street) connecting to Strand, the M153 (Main Road) connecting to Strand and the M156 (Irene Avenue; Steynsrust Road) connecting to Firgrove.

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• Steven Kitshoff — rugby union player
• Selborne Boome — rugby union player
• Ramsay Carelse — high jumper
• Eddie Daniels — ex-political prisoner on Robben Island
• Justin Harding — golfer
• Trevor Immelman — professional golfer; winner of the 2008 Masters Tournament
• Chris McGregor — jazz pianist, bandleader and composer
• H. V. Morton — journalist and travel writer
• Ernest "Eddie" Peirce — boxer
• Handré Pollard — rugby union player
• Storm Roux — New Zealand international footballer

{{div col end}}

• David Ribbans — rugby union player
• Ben-Jason Dixon — rugby union player

Municipality (1) — Somerset West was a municipality in its own right from 1904 to 1996. The council approved its first coat of arms on 23 April 1935.Western Cape Archives : Somerset West Municipal Minutes (23 April 1935).

:

Municipality (2) — In 1953, the council approved a new design, by Ivan Mitford-Barberton and H. Ellis Tomlinson. This was in response to a Cape Provincial Administration circular calling on municipalities to have their arms checked and, if necessary, re-designed to make them heraldically correct. The arms were granted by the College of Arms on 25 November 1953. They were registered at the Bureau of Heraldry in June 1994.[http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za/sm300cv/smws/sm300dl National Archives of South Africa : Data of the Bureau of Heraldry]

The arms were: Azure, a portcullis chained Or; on a chief of the last a setting sun Gules (i.e. a blue shield displaying a red setting sun on a golden stripe across the top, and a golden portcullis with chains below it). The crest was a golden demi-lion holding a vine, issuing from a red mural crown charged with three golden rings. The motto was Prorsum sursum. The design is canting: the portcullis comes from the Somerset family arms, and the setting sun denotes the west.

{{Gallery|title=Somerset West

File:Helderberg, Somerset West, South Africa.JPG

File:Vergelegen Gardens.jpg]]

File:Vergelegen Homestead.jpg]]

File:Vergelegen Reflection Garden.jpg]]

File:SAHRA-9 2 083 0016-Old Lourens River Bridge-wide-20120903.jpg

File:9 2 083 0012-Predikant Square1-Somerset West-s.JPG

File:9 2 083 0024-Magistrate's office2-126 Main Street-Somerset West-s.JPG

File:Old AECI Site, (De Beers Explosive Works). Somerset West. Office Block. Baker and Masey 1899.jpg

File:Hottentots-Holland range from Stark-Condé winery.jpg

File:9 2 040 001-Coachmans Cottage1-Somerset West-s.JPG}}

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{{Cape Town|communities}}

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Category:Suburbs of Cape Town

Category:Populated places established in 1822

Category:1822 establishments in the Cape Colony

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