Jan Harmsgat Country House

You are invited to relax in our exclusive country bed and breakfast guest house accommodation on an historic farm, (established

Description

Jan Harmsgat Guest Farm is situated between the towns of Swellendam on the N2 and Ashton on the R62.

The guest house is a 2 hour drive from Cape Town, on a working farm in the scenic Klein Karoo winelands region of South Africa. The towns of Robertson, Montagu, and McGregor are within close proximity and Cape Agulhas (the southern tip of Africa) is an easy hours drive away.

The guest house, bed and breakfast accommodation (which is non smoking) is in understated elegance and comfort in the farms original slave quarters, and consists of four large en-suite rooms with an adjoining lounge. Two loft rooms and the guest lounge boast expansive mountain views. Guests may relax by the pool with a book from our extensive library or explore the farm and surrounding wine routes, as well as museums and heritage sites in nearby Swellendam and surrounding areas.

Conveniently situated a leisurely half-hour s drive through beautiful farm-lands, from Swellendam; Jan Harmsgat Guest Farm has seen a renaissance that captures its rich past, in a way that fits in with the discerning traveller s needs: Space, charm and an unsurpassed opportunity to indulge in an authentic country ambience and history. From the early days of determined pioneers and settlers, the ringing of the slave bell, a renegade Republic, the tradition and splendour of the early Cape Colony...

We also offer a beautiful cottage on the extreme boundary of the farm, about 5 minutes drive from the main house. The cottage is set in a lovely pastoral setting, surrounded by pedigreed Somerset sheep. Bass fishing can be arranged here.

Dinner is a four-course set menu. Please advise if you have any food preferences, allergies or dislikes. We don?t serve lunches but we do offer light snacks. Babysitting can be arranged.

In 1674, east of the current town of Bonnievale, on a farm nestled under the towering Langeberg Mountains, Johannes Harman Jansz Potgieter was born.

Johannes married in 1714, and the farm appears on the grant of 1723 as Jan Harmansz Schat (treasure)- from which it was apparently corrupted to Jan Harmsgat.

In 1731 we find the grazing rights being granted to a famous hunter, Jacobus Botha. His hunting career was brought to an end a couple of years later, when he shot a lion, and the lioness (which he had not seen) attacked and mauled him, leaving him for dead. Botha recovered but was never able to hunt again, and in 1734 Governor de la Fontaine made a freehold grant to Botha, for services rendered, of the farm Jan Harmans Gat which he was then occupying. The farm was described as "vier uur te perd van die dorp Swellendam" Jacobus Botha lived to the age of 90, dying in 1782, and his 12 sons gave him 190 grandchildren.

The farm is situated along the slopes of the Langeberg, between the mountain and the Breede River. The modern road from Swellendam to Ashton runs along this beautiful valley.

In 1789 the farm passed into the hands of Hermanus Steyn de Jonge. In 1765 he had married the widow Margaretha van Staden, and by the time the farm was occupied by him, he was already a man of some stature in the area. In addition to farming, he also did some Trustee work and sat on the District Council of Swellendam.

In 1795 the farmers of the District rebelled against their Dutch masters, and declared themselves independent of the Cape Government. Hermanus Steyn was chosen as the president of the new Republic, which lasted only a short while before the British assumed control of the Cape Colony, and Swellendam again reverted to their original status.

Hermanus Steyn lies buried on the farm Jan Harmsgat in a small plot marked by a granite gravestone, which can be seen a few hundred meters from the main house.
 
A grandson of the old President, Gideon van Zyl, changed the name of the farm to the gentler name of Nooitgedacht. The old building with its three gables under thatch, was again changed by a cousin, one Piet van Eeden. He removed the upper floors and rebuilt the house with a corrugated iron roof.

The original wine cellar and old slave quarters were retained, but again the thatch was replaced by corrugated iron. This has subsequently been changed back to thatch and is the form in which the buildings now exist.

The wine cellar reminds us of the days when Jan Harmsgat was a large wine farm. The owner of the farm during that time, one F.J.van Eeden was a member of the Legislature, and inherited the farm from old Gideon van Zyl.

One day, while sitting in a meeting of the legislature, he became so angry about a proposed excise duty, that he had all the vineyards cut down, and planted orange trees in their place.

Jan Harmsgat became famous for it's oranges, which thrived in this climate. Four giant old orange trees which had been planted by Hermanus Steyn, de Oue, produced wagon loads of oranges for 150 years, but were then cut down by van Eeden, and 5 dozen orangewood chairs made from the timber.

Today the farm is still in the hands of a van Eeden, after a short time when ownership was not in the family. Judi Rebstein (nee' van Eeden) and Brin are the present owners, and have been responsible for the extensive renovations to both the buildings and orchards, as well as the remaining 680 ha. of farmland.

Attractions

RECREATION: Guest Lounge Library Fax machine on premises Wine Cellar Copier on premises Walking Internet facilities Bird watching English and Afrikaans are spoken Swimming Pool

Bass fishing can be arranged here.

TGCSA Star Grading

Facilities

GENERAL:

Breakfast

Laundry Service

Vegetarian catering on request

Parking

Organic produce subject to availability

Fireplace

Dinner

Bathrooms en-suite  

Underfloor heating

We also offer a beautiful cottage on the extreme boundary of the farm, about 5 minutes drive from the main house. The cottage is set in a lovely pastoral setting, surrounded by pedigreed Somerset sheep.

Room #1 Downstairs with wooden beamed ceilings, double bed and large hot shower. Orchard view, south facing.
Room#2 Downstairs with twin beds, large room with mountain view and separate bathroom en-suits
Room #3 Upstairs under thatch, Orchard view, South facing. Air-conditioned, with Victorian bath in the main bedroom. Toilet en-suite.
Room #4 Upstairs, mountain facing. Mountain facing and air-conditioned, with Victorian bath in main bedroom. Toilet en-suite.

Directions