| Villa Arcadia | |
|---|---|
 Villa Arcadia | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Address | 22 Oxford Road |
| Town or city | Parktown,Johannesburg |
| Country | South Africa |
| Current tenants | Hollard |
| Client | Lionel Phillips |
Villa Arcadia is a mansion at 22 Oxford Road,Parktown,Johannesburg. It was built for SirLionel Phillips, one of the influentialRandlords that dominated the early history of the city. Today it is one of theParktown mansions that are preserved as part of the city's heritage.
In 1896, SirLionel Phillips was banished from South Africa after theJameson Raid. He narrowly escaped the death sentence and was fined £25,000 and exiled.[1]
He and his wife returned and took up residence in this house known as Villa Arcadia. The first building here was a Swiss Chalet that had been imported as a prefabricated house in 1897 for Carl Rolfe, a German businessman.[2] In 1909,Herbert Baker andFrancis Edward Masey were employed to design a new house at 22 Oxford Road. This was one of the last houses designed by the partnership as it was dissolved the following year with Masey leaving for Rhodesia to escape Baker's dominance.[3]
The current Villa Arcadia was completed with considerable input and design changes fromFlorence Philips. A music room was added to the house by Baker, separated from the house by a landscaped cloistered courtyard. The house features a long veranda on the ground floor fronted by eleven arches with extensive views of theM1 motorway and overlooking what was once theSachsenwald. Today the view is theSaxonwold andForest Town suburbs and theJohannesburg Zoo.
The property was sold and a Jewish orphanage was established in the house in 1923.[4]General Jan Smuts opened the Orphanage which ran in the Villa until 2002 with its highest number of orphans in 1939 at over 400.
The House itself now houses a modern art collection, a number of boardrooms and entertainment facilities.[4]
26°10′30.36″S28°2′23.1″E / 26.1751000°S 28.039750°E /-26.1751000; 28.039750
