Sites

The site comprises the remains of an old rectangular gabled stable building which is oriented along the east-west axis. According to the landowner of Portion 12 of the farm Conga’s Kraal 307 on which the building is located, Mr. D.R. Steyn, the building is believed to have been part of an overnight stop along the old wagon route from Port Elizabeth to East London. Horses used to pull carriages and coaches along this road would have been replaced or rested here. A large White Milkwood Tree (Sideroxylon inerme) is associated with the building. The building contains two adjacent stables and as an open-ended passageway that runs in front of the stable doors. The carriage storage room is located beyond the passage. The passage has an arched entrance both ends (i.e. it northern and southern ends) with cement floors. Ceilings, door and window frames are of wood. The roof is pitched, with corrugated iron sheets and the side walls can be described as triangular gables with segmental pediments. The brick laying style is an old English technique known as British Bond, where by the bricks are laid in alternating rows end-to-end and then side-to-side. An old wagon road is depicted on an early survey diagram for the farm Conga’s Kraal that was compiled on 1 November 1833. Although the stables is not depicted on this diagram, a Google Earth overlay of the position of the stables over this early diagram has shown that the two features are no more than 40 m apart and are clearly associated. The earliest depiction of the stables on any of the available maps and diagrams is on the First Edition of the 3325DB Topographical Sheet that was surveyed in 1943. It is therefore clear that the stables was built between
1833 and 1943, and as a result is between 182 and 72 years old. Based on the association of the building with the old
wagon road, the building can certainly be classified as older than 100 years. A farm dwelling is located a short distance west of the stables and although it has significantly been altered over the years, it may very well also be older than 60 years. No archaeological artefacts or material could be observed on the surface of the site. It is of course possible for such material to be still located in the direct proximity of the site.