Arts, Culture & Heritage
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Blue Plaque Sites

Chancellor House

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About Chancellor House

Developed by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation

Address

25 Fox Street, corner Gerard Sekoto Street, Ferreirastown.
25 April 2025

Inscription

CHANCELLOR HOUSE In 1942, architect Frank L. Jarrett designed this modernist building for brothers Samuel, Hyman and Israel Bentel. During the 1950s, Mandela and Tambo Attorneys, at the time the only black-owned legal firm in South Africa, moved in upstairs and became a vital resource for Black South Africans seeking justice under apartheid, with daily queues of clients needing representation against discriminatory laws. Despite its location near the Chief Magistrate's offices, Advocate Jules Browde successfully opposed attempts to enforce the Group Areas Act.

Photo courtesy: Kabelo Mokoena (Sunday Times)

Explore Joburg

A culmination of research gathered over many years, the Online Johannesburg Heritage Register is being launched on Nelson Mandela Day 18 July 2025.

Among the many heritage sites featured is Chancellor House, the downtown offices of Mandela and Tambo Attorneys in the 1950s. After having been vacant and shuttered for more than a decade, this iconic building is being revived and brought to life once again as offices for the Community Development Department, which oversees the City’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Services.

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