Sites

The site comprises an old rectangular shaped farmstead on Portion 10 of the farm Platterug 303 owned by Mr Broadbend. The building was the original farmhouse for a portion of the farm known in historic times as Klipvlei. The homestead consists of four rooms and a partially enclosed veranda. It has a corrugated iron roof sloping towards the south. The window and doorframes are wooden. The foundation of the house is of stone and extends past the walls of the home, a building method used to strengthen the walls and foundation. The layout of the house is such that three rooms are located on its northern side, with a fourth room situated on the building’s south-western end and the remainder of the southern and south-eastern space made up by a veranda. Each of the three northern rooms has a separate external access door to the north. The room on the north-eastern side has a window on its eastern end and a second access door to the south onto the veranda. The middle room on the northern end of the house has a window on the southern side overlooking the veranda. The room on the north-western side has no windows with the only opening being the door to the north. The fourth room on the south-western side has a door on its eastern end leading onto the veranda. This room appears to have been what was colloquially referred to as a stoepkamer (veranda room), as it normally represented a second phase alteration of the original building by enclosing a section of the veranda to create an additional room and was the result of an increasing need in space as a result of the growth of a family. It has two windows, one to the west and one on its southern side. These stoepkamers were usually used as sleeping quarters by the boys and young men of the household. The veranda is closed off on its eastern side and has one step at the entrance onto the veranda.The remnants of an old windmill are located on the western side of the house. The house has not been maintained and based on the fact that trees are shrubs are growing from all ends of it, the building has not been occupied for a very long time. The dwelling is not depicted on a survey diagram compiled in March 1910. However, it is shown on the First Edition of the 3325DB Topographical Sheet that was surveyed in 1943. Based on this it would appear that the building under discussion is between 105 and 72 years old.