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History: Libertas Parva (Rembrandt van Rijn Art Centre) A short distance from the railway station at the corner which Dorp Street forms with Somerset West Road, stands the first remarkable old house in this street. It is called Libertas Parva or Little Libertas and it is on the right side of the street.
The well-known farm, Libertas, originally extended across the Eerste River up to the wagon road. In 1771 the Rev. Johannes Appeldoorn, who had been the parson at Stellenbosch since 1753, purchased about four hectares along the river from J. B. Hoffman, who was the owner of Libertas at that time. Hence the name Libertas Parva. The Rev. Appeldoorn died in the following year and the little farm came into the possession of Lambertus H. Fick. By purchase he added a further 1,5 hectares to his farm in 1783 from Oude Molen, and about this time he probably built the huge H-shaped house with the four striking concavo-convex end gables. No wonder this house was indicated by W. F. Hertzog, the surveyor, on his interesting map of 1817.
Philip Jacob Haupt purchased the farm in 1819 and it must be accepted that he was responsible for the erection of the present front gable with the two front doors built in and also for the Georgian windows.
In 1862 Libertas Parva came into the possession of Paul Ryk Roux who sold it to J. D. Krige even years later. He was the father of Isie, the wife of General J. C. Smuts, and also of Garfield. The latter became a surveyor and later the owner of this beautiful old estate. A little lower down he had the cottages built which are in keeping with the style of the old mansion.
Because it is so centrally situated the property has become much sought after by businessmen during recent years and the survival of the old mansion was threatened. Thanks to Historical Homes of South Africa Ltd., this important group of buildings has recently been fully re stored and now forms an impressive entrance to the town.
Proclaimed 1970"
Visual Description: The oldest feature of the house is its four side gables; they are of the holbol type, but show a breaking up of the concaves and convexes into wavy lines reminiscent of a similar tendency in the front gables of the Zevenrivieren-Hazendal type, c, 1790. The house may therefore date from 1783 or soon after. Haupt was undoubtedly the man who gave the house its present gable, with almost straight outlines, Georgian windows and, following a fashion then current (especially in Stellenbosch), two front doors. Their outer surrounding pilasters are continued upward to form the outer gable pilasters.
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Condition: Good
Construction Date: 1790
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