St James, Cape Town

St James

Beach houses at St James
St James
St James
St James

 St James shown within Western Cape

Coordinates: 34°07′08″S 18°27′33″E / 34.11889°S 18.45917°E / -34.11889; 18.45917Coordinates: 34°07′08″S 18°27′33″E / 34.11889°S 18.45917°E / -34.11889; 18.45917
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
Municipality City of Cape Town
Main Place Muizenberg
Area[1]
  Total 0.37 km2 (0.14 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
  Total 491
  Density 1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
  Black African 7.3%
  Coloured 6.7%
  White 79.6%
  Other 6.3%
First languages (2011)[1]
  English 87.1%
  Afrikaans 6.1%
  Xhosa 2.3%
  Other 4.5%
Postal code (street) 7945
PO box 7946

St James is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, situated on the False Bay coast between Muizenberg and Kalk Bay.[2] The suburb is situated between the rocky shore and a steep mountain, and measures about 200m by 2 km. Its name derives from the early St James Catholic Church, built circa 1880. Most of the suburb was built between 1910 and 1950, after the railway line was built connecting Cape Town to False Bay.

St James beach is well known for its colourful Victorian bathing boxes,[3] tidal pool[4] and rock pools, which are popular with children.[5]

Most of the homes in the area date back to the days when the Cape was still a colony of the Victorian Empire.[4] The houses were built from limestone, plaster and stone, with traditional thatched roofs. St James Cottage was built in 1853 and during the Anglo-Boer War, the owner Abraham Auret helped to hide prisoners of war in the loft of his barn after which they attempted to escape across the bay.[3]

Boyes Drive runs above St James and provides scenic views of the False Bay coastline. St James is located on the Simon's Town train line and the Main Road that runs down the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula.[4] There are walks and hikes on the mountains above the town, and whale watching opportunities during whale season.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sub Place St James". Census 2011.
  2. 1 2 "St James Guesthouses". StJamesGuesthouses.co.za. 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Cape Point Route Info". CapePointRoute.co.za. 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "SA Venues St James". SA-venues.com. 1999. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  5. "Cape Town Tourism". capetown.travel. 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
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