With the winter sun pouring through the sash windows and the smell of freshly baked muffins filling the air, I close my eyes for a moment, trying to picture what life would have been like on a West Coast plaaswerf in the late 1700’s.
But when the conversation starts flowing between father and son Nick and Peter Pentz, the current custodians of Groote Post and neighbouring Klawer Valley farms, I quickly realise that this family has a way of keeping history and traditions alive.
“Growing up here, you don’t always understand what you have. The historical value of living in a 200-year-old house only sinks in later,” says Peter (26) and refers to the poem “Die huis luister” by Afrikaans poet Daniel Hugo.
“The house has so many stories to tell and the footsteps of the people who passed through the house are unbelievable. They were prominent figures who helped shape today’s society.”
And if you believe Nick’s mom, who was apparently born with a caul, some of the inhabitants of days gone by are still hanging around in the corridors.
The manor house on Groote Post, once the hunting lodge of Lord Charles Somerset, governor of the Cape Colony, dates back to 1808. They aren’t sure when the manor house on Klawer Valley
