FROM HUT HOUSE TO HOP HOUSE: THE ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OF GENADENDAL - PART II By the middle of the 19th century all the “beehive huts” or mat huts have disappeared in the village and were gradually replaced by clay wall houses. If an inhabitant intends to build a clay wall house, the missionaries would assist such a person with a subsidy of 2 pounds. This incentive had a positive result, because in 1862 there were already 400 solid clay wall houses in the village. During the pioneer years sods of turf were used, later on lumps of clay pressed and rolled into balls were stacked on one another to build a wall - these structures were known as ‘bolmuur’ cottages. The clay, mixed with straw were thoroughly prepared by oxen that trampled it for hours. The cottages varied in size, from one roomed to three roomed cottages. The smallest ones were referred to as bullock-cottages (bulletjies) and had no attics. The houses had clay floors, covered with mats (as described in the previous article), grass or rye roofs, attics where the garden produce could be stored, no glass pane windows, but instead louvre windows and stable doors. Above the door was a small arched gable with a dormer-window, also known as a ‘wolfsneus’ to prevent the rain from dripping on the door. Wolfneus-cottages became characteristic of the Genadendal architecture and was later imitated on farmsteads and other mission stations. Recently a restoration project for the built environment was launched in Genadendal and sadly no wolfneus cottage was restored to its former glory. During the sixties and early seventies these cottages lost their authentic appearances. Many started to crumble or were altered and modernized by the residents - walls were plastered with cement, grass roofs replaced with corrugated iron sheeting, dormer gables demolished and the pithed roofs replaced with flat roofs. To identify today a traditional Genadendal cottage, one needs to look at the thickness of the walls. Many of them were half a meter thick and the first layers from the foundation were built with stone. In 1969 I realised that once we lose them, they will also fade away in our memory The only camera I could use was a vintage Brownie box camera, and today I feel so glad that I could photograph most of them. In the photographs attached are some of these cottages —gone and forgotten. Bless this house, O Lord we pray, Make it safe by night and day . . . Bless these walls so firm and stout, Keeping want and trouble out . . . Bless the roof and chimneys tall, Let thy peace lie overall . . . Bless this door that it may prove, Ever open, To joy and love . . . Bless us all that we may be, Fit O Lord to dwell with thee . . . Bless us all that one day we may dwell, O Lord! With Thee! (Words and Music by Helen Taylor and May H. Morgan, 1927) “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock” - Matthew 7:24
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 07:51:46 +0000
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