A Cape Dutch home in Tokai with a long and interesting history is for sale through Greeff Properties at R8.5 million.

The home was originally called Voorspoed, and the site was bought in 1903by a member of the Cape Parliament, Henry Burton, from his friend, Alec Chiappini. Burton was an advocate who went on to become Attorney General of the Cape in the Merriman government and after 1910 a cabinet minister in the Smuts’ Union government.

Burton built a large two gabled U-shaped house but departed from classical Cape Dutch norms by having an upper storey and beautiful upper balconies above a semi-enclosed entrance patio.

In 1923 the thatched house was completely destroyed by fire, but the Burtons commissioned architect Thain Forsyth to do a follow-up design on the same site, repeating the front façade with its ornate curved gables.

Burton died on Christmas day, 1939 but the home remained in his family (there were nine children) and was frequently used by Smuts for war cabinet meetings. In 1948 the home was acquired by Colonel and Mrs Hoult. After her husband died, Mrs Hoult moved into the guest cottage and rented out the home, changing its name to Morningside. One of the tenants was the Israeli embassy.

By 1954, the property had been bought by Captain GH Pickering, Marine Superintendent of the Union Castle Line, who in his retirement improved and upgraded the home and greatly increased the size of the vineyard and doubled the grape output.

In 1965 the Pickerings sold the property to a British property developer, John Francis, who with his architect, Ernest Ford, subdivided 23 acres of the estate into plots ranging in size from 1 000m² to 1 500m², creating the Tokai suburb. The design parameters ensured that all homes built there conformed to appropriate Cape styles.

Greeff agent, Gail Horsley, who is marketing the old manor house, says it has wooden floors, teak and walnut panelling, sash windows with teak shutters, a bevelled front door with a typical Dutch fanlight, fireplaces and a spacious room with high ceilings and brass chandeliers - an Edwardian innovation but one she believes is appropriate here. The kitchen has two ovens and a two plate gas hob.

The home has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, separate living and dining rooms, a panelled study, a sauna and a gym, a wine cellar, staff accommodation and garaging and carports for seven cars.

“We hope the eventual buyer will respect and preserve this home as, although Edwardian not Victorian, it is part of the Cape’s heritage and has great charm and distinction. Homes of this kind tend to become corporate bases and training venues – and it would be suitable for that purpose as well,” says Horsley.