Fergus Carstairs Rogers
Fergus Carstairs Rogers (1864-1927) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and educated at Dollar Academy and George Watson School in Edinburgh. He studied architecture in Belgium and at the South Kensington Schools in London and was articled to J McVicar Anderson, FRIBA, in London.
Rogers came to South Africa in 1889 where he was initially employed by the Kimberley Public Works Department for two years before setting up independent practice under the name of Carstairs Rogers in 1892. He married in 1893 and their daughter, a future well-known South African tennis player, Dolly Rogers, was born circa 1900.
Rogers came to South Africa in 1889 where he was initially employed by the Kimberley Public Works Department for two years before setting up independent practice under the name of Carstairs Rogers in 1892. He married in 1893 and their daughter, a future well-known South African tennis player, Dolly Rogers, was born circa 1900.
In 1898 he won the competition to design the second Kimberley Town Hall (the current Kimberley City Hall), the first having been destroyed by fire.
During the siege of Kimberley Fergus Carstairs Rogers was on his way home from the Kimberley Club when a Boer shell exploded and wounded him in the leg. Willing helpers dashed to the rescue, and Mr. Rogers was advised to go to hospital. His reply was: "Hospital be blowed, take me into the Club!" One of the dining room tables in the Club was used as an operating table, he was plied with whisky and the shell splinter removed. He later had this made into a brooch and on the reverse the following inscription is seen “Taken from FC Rogers’ leg during Anglo Boer War 1900”. The shell splinter was presented to the Kimberley Club by Mrs. Margaret Harvey in 2009 in memory of her late husband Frank Harvey, who was the grandson of FC Rogers.
During the siege of Kimberley Fergus Carstairs Rogers was on his way home from the Kimberley Club when a Boer shell exploded and wounded him in the leg. Willing helpers dashed to the rescue, and Mr. Rogers was advised to go to hospital. His reply was: "Hospital be blowed, take me into the Club!" One of the dining room tables in the Club was used as an operating table, he was plied with whisky and the shell splinter removed. He later had this made into a brooch and on the reverse the following inscription is seen “Taken from FC Rogers’ leg during Anglo Boer War 1900”. The shell splinter was presented to the Kimberley Club by Mrs. Margaret Harvey in 2009 in memory of her late husband Frank Harvey, who was the grandson of FC Rogers.
Around 1905 he entered into partnership with JG Ross (cf Rogers & Ross). In 1907 the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum on Chapel Street was opened - another of his wonderful designs. He was awarded the MBE for his recruiting work during the First World War (1914-18). Around 1930/1934 he entered into a new partnership with GF Wright (cf Rogers & Wright). At the time of his death he was working on plans for a diamond cutting factory in Kimberley for De Beers.
