Melrose House
George Jesse Heys, a prosperous Pretoria businessman, built Melrose House in 1886. It was fitted, furnished and ornamented in the late-Victorian style and is a fine example of the transition from Victorian to Edwardian architectural styles.
The Heys family owned the furniture, carpets, porcelain and silver displayed, and the entire interior of the house is as it was when it belonged to the original owners. This allows visitors the opportunity to see how the upper middle class society in Pretoria lived at the turn of the century. The interior of Melrose House is characterised by colourful stained glass windows, paintings by English artists, ornate ceilings and fireplaces, rich carpets, and valuable silver and porcelain ornaments. Because all the materials used in the construction of the house were imported from England it had to be transported from the docks to Pretoria by ox-wagon.
The City Council of Pretoria bought the house and its contents from the estate of Mr. Heys in 1967. An extensive restoration programme started in 1992/93 and the house was restored to the period of 1895 to 1905. Authenticity was the main consideration and this involved silk-screen printing the original wallpaper and painting the ceilings, walls and woodwork in the original colour schemes.
On the 5th of June 1900 British troops under the command of Lord Roberts invaded Pretoria as part of their campaign during the Anglo-Boer War. Melrose House was requisitioned and for the remainder of the war strategy was determined there. Lord Kitchener was also a resident during the war. The peace treaty of Vereeniging, which meant the end of the war, was signed by British and Boer representatives in the dining room on 31 May 1902. The room has remained practically intact since then.
In 1990 the house was a target of a right-wing bombing.
Melrose House website: http://www.melrosehouse.co.za/
Museum
Park website link: http://www.museumpark.co.za/melrosehouse.htm
