5 Bed House in Montagu

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HER VICTORIAN GRACE - Circa 1900

Built on the original Farmer Knipes Land ( Circa 1885), this Asymmetrical Victorian Villa, still in an immaculate condition, is a well planned and commodious home, in those days, for the more prosperous, and, in general, these later domestic buildings reflected the common Victorian distinction between house and cottage. This particular villa ranged between 550 to 650 Pound Sterling when built, and by 1911, the census recorded, that there were only 475 houses in total in Montagu. By the turn of the century the builders of high status houses largely abandoned the forms of what Lewcock called the Old Cape Architectural Tradition in favour of new architectural forms that were dominant by then in Cape Town and in other colonies such as Australia. The villa represented a radical departure from most of these characteristic features of the earlier houses because it was a house form for people with different occupation and aspirations. Villas seem to have been preferred by professionals and commercial leaders, and were built even by people of Dutch back ground, who had lived in Montagu for some time and had previously inhabited more traditional houses.

The front door is that of a 4 panel wooded one, mostly made on-site, with special carved patterns, and built with a double projecting gable end.The gables are that of Triangular Pediments, and the walls have Rustication done on them. High Status houses also had 2 panel sash windows, which are fitted in this grand residence and all the original wooden floors (in prime condition, due to the original cellar built underneath the house, ensuring proper ventilation), ceilings, door posts and doors, are also still in tact.

Another innovation to have an enormous impact on both the way the house was used and the way that it related to its broader context was the introduction of the verandah.

The universal use of the verandah in turn-of-the-century villas changed the relationship of the house to street . Verandahs usually took one of three typical forms. In asymmetrical villas, the verhandah was sometimes straight but more commonly ell shaped. In these the verandah was contained between the projecting bay ends of the house, which this villas was, but changed in a later stage. The climatic advantages of the verandah in the hot little Karoo are obvious, but they were not the only reason for its widespread use. Even among Dutch residents of late- 19thcentury towns , the verandah was an important social facility. It was there that on warm evenings the family would sit it was even there that they received their guests and where the daughters of the house could entertain their suitors after their parents had retired.

The Social Call :

The reason why the villa form became popular was because it provided a particularly appropriate setting for the rituals of Late-Victorian social life, into which the new merchant and professional class in Montagu were no doubt drawn. It proclaimed the gentility of its owners and provided them with the means to comply with the requirements of Late-Victorian etiquette. This social life was dominated by the social call, divided, by etiquette book writers such as Mrs Beeton, strictly into types , each with specific protocols. A call could be made by a gentleman, by the mistress of a house or by a young man. A call could be a ceremonial call, a business call, or a friendship call, a call of condolence, or an after dinner call, each with its appropriate behaviours designed to reinforce the social relationships between middle class Victorians. In addition to the call, there was the dinner, divided by etiquette books into the dinner with guests and the family dinner at home . The spaces of the house were designed to support the ceremony that these different events required.

In their detailed architectural treatment, the form of most villas signalled a departure from the rigid symmetry of the house of the first phase. Both plan and facade were asymmetrical, and this allowed the celebration of the more public functions of the house, in spaces which could be specifically designed for the purpose and represented on the exterior. The typical villa plan, with all rooms leading off a corridor, permitted far greater privacy within the house than even the two-room-deep passage plans of the mid-century. The main spaces were arranged so that callers need not penetrate into the house any further than was necessary they were exposed only to its more elaborately decorated spaces, which were specifically designed to impress them.

This Grand Madame, consists of 3 Bedrooms, with build-in cupboards, and their own private en-suite bathrooms, a large study/ drawing room which can be used as a 4th bedroom, a reception room with a fireplace, an entertainment room, with guest toilet, and a kitchen (with a scullery), much larger in this home, than in other villas (as this one was built much earlier that the others), set apart from the rest of the house, designed to be used entirely independently & supervised rather than inhabited by the owners family.

The large Lounge and Dining Hall, was originally the Oudams ( Montagu West) Main Liquor Store. Still having its business rights, zoned as Business 2 which can be used as commercial, or as soft business, with consent, appropriate for offices. Its 50m2 loft can also be renovated and incorporated as part of the residence.

A Double Garage is built on the property, with a separate bachelors flat, which can be used either for staff quarters, an Air B&B, a Teenage Pad, a studio or for storage.

Extras include a solar geyser with panels, a 5kw inverter, Deep Blue Aquatic System, a 1,500 Lt Water Tank, and a Security Alarm.

Last, but not least, a Peter Sinovich landscaped garden, surrounds this residence, consisting of indigenous plants and succulents as well.

Reason for selling: the current owners made the decision to down scale, creating a new opportunity for a new owner to own this beautiful Dame, with the opportunity to take over some of the current furniture pieces. If you feel this very valuable Victorian is for you, then please do not hesitate to contact our office, to arrange a scheduled viewing for you.

Priced to Sell, this Esteemed Property is surely worth every Sterling Pound.

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As Reference: Occasional Publications Series under editorship of Professor David Dewar, The School of Architecture and Planning University of Cape Town