Description

"T-shaped 5-bay house, once thatched, now with corrugated iron roof, covered front and end gables with fretted bargeboards, and louvred vents under the eaves. 6x6 sash in front gable and 15-pane casement in end gable. 12x12 Georgian sashes and 4x4 door with sunrise fanlight. All front windows have hood mouldings. Tiled stoep. Dorp St side has mid-19th C flat-roofed extension filling in the side of the original T, with 12x12 sashes with internal shutters, two panelled stable doors with 6-pane fanlights and a brick stoep." 

History

"One of the houses built by the College of Landdrost and Heemraden for the benefit of Stellenbosch, it was let in 1698 to Jean Prieur du Plessis and his wife Marie Buisset, ancestors of all the South African du Plessis. From 1700-1704 it was occupied by Rev Hercules van Loon, the first permanent minister of Stellenbosch, and was thus the first parsonage. The astronomer Peter Kolbe occupied the house while he was Secretary to the College of Landdrost and Heemraden from 1711-1713. Thereafter, until 1830 when Lord Charles Somerset abolished the system, it served as the official residence of all secretaries to the College of Landdrost and Heemraden. [Archaeological excavations found that only the foundations of the original house remaind. The present house therefore does not date from the late 17th century. ] It then became privately owned and was substantially altered. (Meiring & van Huyssteen)" 

Alterations

Historical: mid-19th C joinery and later 19th C roof alterations. 

Social History

Significance in terms of NHRA