The restoration of Primrose Cottage

KNYSNA NEWS - Primrose Cottage at 4 Metcalfe Street is one of Knysna's oldest surviving residential buildings, with a history that stretches back to the mid-19th century.

The present home is the result of two early structures on Erven 870 and 871, later joined into a single home.

The land originally formed part of the farm Melhoutkraal, purchased in 1845 by Lieutenant Colonel John Sutherland from the estate of George Rex.

In 1866, Dr Henry Woodroffe Hare was appointed as district surgeon to Knysna and is believed to have built the thatched cottage, with ownership transferred to him in 1873.

The neighbouring building on Erf 871, believed to date back to 1843 and possibly the oldest remaining structure in Knysna, was used by Alice and Ellen Hare as the town's first girls' school until 1888.

After his death in 1874, his daughters remained in the home and sold the school some years later to a church social worker and a teacher.

By 1945, both properties had been acquired by Francis Seymour Laughton of the forestry department, who made several alterations, including changes to the loft of the main house.

The property later passed through a number of owners before being bought in 1987 by the Blackstock family, who formally joined the two buildings in the early 1990s to a design by architect Sam Walters.

During these renovations, a date of 1843 was discovered marked in plaster on garden steps associated with the former school building.

In 2023, the property entered a new chapter when it was purchased by Leon and Michelle Scheepers, who have approached restoration slowly and respectfully.

Their work has focused on stripping back original wood, refreshing interiors with new paint, repairing and revitalising the extensive garden, and making sensitive improvements that retain the home's historical character.