Bishopscourt | |
|---|---|
   Top, the historic Bishopscourt residence of Anglican archbishop. Bottom left,Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens is located to the immediate west of Bishopscourt. Bottom right, remaining part ofVan Riebeeck's Hedge that used to run through the area. | |
 Interactive map of Bishopscourt | |
| Coordinates:33°59′25″S18°26′45″E / 33.99028°S 18.44583°E /-33.99028; 18.44583 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Western Cape |
| Municipality | City of Cape Town |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.31 km2 (0.89 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 103 m (338 ft) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 1,603 |
| • Density | 694/km2 (1,800/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 12.7% |
| • Coloured | 5.2% |
| • Indian/Asian | 5.5% |
| • White | 74.0% |
| • Other | 2.6% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • English | 85.3% |
| • Afrikaans | 5.1% |
| • Xhosa | 3.0% |
| • Other | 6.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 7708 |
Bishopscourt is a small, wealthy, residential suburb in the Southern Suburbs ofCape Town in theWestern Cape,South Africa. It is part of theCape Town Metropolitan Municipality, created in 2000, which includes the greater Cape Town area. It has approximately 350 houses most of which are on more than 4,000 square metres (1 acre) of land.
The suburb includes the official residence of theArchbishop of Cape Town, which is known as Bishopscourt,[2] whence comes the name of the suburb.[3] It is also the location of a large number of foreign consulates and embassies.[4][5] Along with the neighbouring suburbs ofNewlands andClaremont, Bishopscourt is located in an area at the foot of Table Mountain that attractions considerably more rainfall than the rest of the Cape Peninsula.[6]
In 2015, it was ranked the sixth richest suburb inSouth Africa with an average property value of R11 million.[7]
Following the establishment of theDutch East India Company in 1652, the land that would later become Bishopscourt was originally the site of a farm called Boscheuvel ("Bush Hill"), managed byJan van Riebeeck, the first colonial governor of the Cape. The farm was known for cultivating a range of imported grapevines, fruit trees, and nut trees.[8]
Between 1959 and 1970, 132 families were forcibly removed from the area under the terms of theGroup Areas Act, theapartheid legislation which declared the area to be for white residents only. Following the end of apartheid, a land claim was instituted in 1995, and claimants were granted erven in 2006. Construction of homes for the 86 families that opted for the return of rights to their land began in 2025.[9]
Communities ofCity of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality,Western Cape | |||||
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Seat:Cape Town | |||||
| Atlantic Seaboard | .svg) | ||||
| Blaauwberg | |||||
| Cape Flats |
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| City Bowl | |||||
| Helderberg | |||||
| Islands | |||||
| Northern Suburbs | |||||
| Southern Suburbs | |||||
| South Peninsula | |||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
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