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Alex bequeathed ‘Strathmore Private Hotel’, the property which he had bought on 1 February

1913, to his daughters Elizabeth (married to A. A. Allan Esq.) and Minnie in equal shares, which
they sold under public auction on 11 October 1917 to A. G. Gray Esq. for £2,825. He further

bequeathed ‘Castle Hill’ with furniture and affects to his daughter Alice (Nellie) and his
housekeeper Kathleen May Power in equal shares.

From the earliest of days, the skippers and boat-owners drank in the small bar of the Kings Hotel

in Windsor Road, while the crew drank at the Masonic Hotel. This arrangement arose through

the sense of respect that existed in the fishing fleet. After the Masonic was demolished the crew
continued to drink at “die Klipkantientjie”, which was part of the extension to the original

Masonic Hotel. The skippers and boat-owners remained at the bar in Windsor Road. After the

demolition of the old Kings Hotel in 1929 the architects of the new building wisely again
designed a bar in Windsor Road which the skippers and the boat-owners continued to frequent

until 1970 when the hotel closed and the liquor license was withdrawn.

Architect William Hood Grant and the New Kings Hotel

Shortly after purchasing Kings Hotel the S. A. Breweries commissioned William Hood Grant to

design a new hotel for the site. (Fig. 5.3.) Grant had emigrated to South Africa from Scotland in
1901, and entered practice with MacGillivray in 1903. The firm MacGillivray and Grant

designed many fine buildings in Cape Town, among others the Norwich Union Building, the
Southern Life Building, and the Long Street Baths. He was also commissioned to design the

Muizenberg Beach Pavilion in 1924 for the Cape Town City Council.

Plans for the new hotel were drawn in May 1929 and Charles King’s building was demolished

shortly after their approval in 1930. (Figs. 5.4 & 5.5.) The New Kings Hotel was designed in the
Arts and Crafts idiom, but featured fine art-deco details in the interior. The S. A. Breweries

owned the New Kings Hotel as a hotel and public house until 1970.

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