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History: Overpark is a fine Victorian verandah house in the Natal style. It was built in 1884 for a wealthy merchant in Pietermaritzburg and reflects his wealth in its size and quality of its architectural detailing as well as in the opulence of its interiors.
Visual Description: The front entrance of the house is closed by an e high teak Victorian door with coloured glass middle panels. The doorway gives into a short, high passage and this in turn brings the visitor into a hallway of considerable width, running the entire length of the street-side wing. The hall itself is most impressive enclosed space and the pressed steel ceilings is still in place supported by a cornice with egg and dart moulding ornamentation. The house outside has the usual verandah on two sides with original richly ornamented cast iron pillars. At no point is the verandah particularly wide, but it is made to appear so because it fits around the bay windows. Windows are shuttered external1y and shutters are louvered and side hung. The windows are all sliding sash, some with others without counterweights. The windows at the ends of the wings each have a hood moulding and are set in a raised plaster work surround. The roof is high and well ventilated with well detailed ventilator openings in each gable. The gables themselves retain their finials and most of the cresting still remains. Two chimney stacks rise above the roof line and contain outlets for groups of flues. The shafts are unornamented, but the heads being ornamented with overlapping ridge mouldings. The iron work both in and outside the house is of excellent quality. All the iron work is original and this, in itself is worth conserving, as the patterns are elaborate and expense has not been a great consideration. The present owners have spent an enormous amount of money on the restoration of the house and in its present form it must rank amongst the best Victorian buildings in the country. Overpark House was declared a national monument in December 1981.
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Site Features:
Condition: good
Construction Date: 1862? 1884?
Materials: brick : slate and corrugated iron roof
Catalogue: Pmb, 1987, No: , Significance Category: