Coornhoop (also Koornhoop, Corenhoop, Coorenhoop) is a historic 17th century farmhouse. It is located at 2 Dixton Road in

Observatory, Cape Town Observatory is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa, colloquially known as Obs. Bordered by Mowbray to the south and Salt River to the northwest, the area is best known as a student neighbourhood associated with the nearby University of Cape T ...

. Currently, it houses the

Centre for Conflict Resolution The Centre for Conflict Resolution is a social research institute of the University of Cape Town. It was founded in 1968 by Professor H.W. van der Merwe in Cape Town, South Africa, to conduct academic research on relations between "racial" groups ...

History

In 1657 and 1658,

Jan van Riebeeck Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 – 18 January 1677) was a Dutch navigator and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company. Life Early life Jan van Riebeeck was born in Culemborg, as the son of a surgeon. He ...

gave land to 14 Vryburgers on the western bank of the

Liesbeek river The Liesbeek River (also spelt Liesbeeck) is a river in Cape Town in South Africa. It is named after a small river in the Netherlands. The first "free burghers" of the Dutch East India Company were granted land to farm along the river in 1657, sh ...

to farm with

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. To protect their harvest from raids by the

Khoikhoi Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also ''Hottentot (racial term), Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 ...

, a row of small forts and sheds were built along the river. In the event of an attack, the women and children of the neighbouring allotments were to take shelter in them. In September 1657 the sheds at Coornhoop were completed. After 4 years, the buildings at Coornhoop fell into disuse. A series of owners then subdivided the ground and sometimes consolidated sections, and converted the sheds to residences. It has evolved into one of

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...

's most beautiful developments. In the 19th and 20th centuries the buildings deteriorated and were demolished. In 1961, the

Simon van der Stel Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the last commander and first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony, the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. Background Simon was the son of Adriaan van der Steland Maria Lievens ...

Foundation bought the buildings and restored them in 1964. The gable ends of the remaining shells are of the concave/convex type and date from 1797.

Dovecote

Behind two rows of three arches connecting two of the original sheds, stands a unique double-storey dovecote. The facade is a feature of the Cape architecture. In 1966 this dovecote was declared a monument. In the William Fehr Collection there is a sketch from 1896 by A.F. Truter of the dovecote.

Western Province Agricultural Union

On May 24, 1971, the agricultural union made an information board for the building listing the names of the first 14 free burghers located at Coornhoop, De Hollantse Thuijn and Groenevelt.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{Cape Town, history 1657 establishments in Africa Buildings and structures in Cape Town Forts in South Africa History of Cape Town Redoubts