Groote Schuur

City of Cape Town, South Africa

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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Further readingEncyclopædia Britannica↗

Groote Schuur, an estate in Cape Town's Rondebosch district on the slopes of Devil's Peak, originated as a Dutch East India Company granary in the seventeenth century, with its name meaning "big shed" in Dutch. Acquired by Cecil Rhodes in 1893, the Cape Dutch building was extensively reconstructed by architect Sir Herbert Baker following a devastating fire in 1896. Baker replaced the damaged front, added a long rear stoep and a new wing housing a billiard room and master bedroom with a bay window, and installed a grand hall with a massive fireplace—all executed without mechanical fittings, as Rhodes insisted on cast brass and bronze replacements. The traditional thatch was replaced with Welsh slate for durability. Baker also guided Rhodes's transition from modern London furnishings toward a collection of traditional Cape colonial pieces, establishing the aesthetic that would characterize the house. The estate now holds four seventeenth-century Flemish tapestries depicting America, Africa, Europe, and Victory, and functions as a museum and national heritage site.