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Govan Mbeki's Birthplace
Mpukane, Ndabakazi district, Eastern Cape
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Click to view large map Coordinates: | PRELIMINARY DESCRIPTION A single storey verandah house - under a hipped corrugated iron roof - with external walls constructed in a coursed and pointed hammer-dressed local stone, is placed at the north side of the large Mbeki homestead precinct, overlooking gently sloping agricultural lands to the north. The plan of the house is linear, along an east-west axis, with three inter-leading rooms. A four-panelled timber entrance door is placed centrally on the south elevation providing access into the central Living Room. No other window or door openings are provided on the south elevation. A four panel door on the north side of the Living Room - on the same axial line as the front door - opens onto the narrow north verandah and is flanked by two small 6 x 6 pane sliding sash windows. A modest fireplace with timber surround is placed at mid-wall on the west wall of this room, surmounted by the chimney breast which reduces in size prior to penetrating the ceiling. On either side of the Living room are similarly sized Bedrooms each accessed via a four-panelled door with timber jamb linings. The west Bedroom is provided with its own similarly detailed fireplace on the east wall, back-to-back with the Living Room fireplace, and also surmounted by the chimney breast which reduces prior to penetrating the ceiling. A 6 x 6 pane sliding sash is placed centrally on the west wall. The east Bedroom is also provided with its own similarly detailed fireplace on the west wall, again surmounted by the chimney breast which reduces prior to penetrating the ceiling. A 6 x 6 pane sliding sash is placed centrally on the east wall. The original matched lining board ceilings and moulded timber cornices survive intact - with their original dark shellac finish. The doors and windows have their original painted moulded timber frames - albeit in need of some remedial work. A recent change has been the plastering of the external reveals of the windows and door openings - but fortunately this plastering has not yet been extended to any of the main elevations. The integral verandah roof is supported on round timber poles - possibly later - and protects the north, east and west elevations. A notable feature of the verandah is its narrow width, which in the recent past has been partly addressed by the construction of an additional face-brick perimeter wall marginally increasing the width. Fortunately no adjustments were made to the verandah roof to suit the greater width and the original low stone verandah wall appears to survive intact. An important feature of the external elevations are the two symmetrically placed plastered chimneys on the ridge of the roof. A galvanised iron ogee profile gutter is attached to the roof edge. The house - constructed circa 1910 - is substantially complete apart from minor wear and tear. It could be relatively easily restored and stabilised and a Conservation Management Plan set in place to guide its care in the future. The greatest potential threat to the building will be attempts to modernise the interior and exterior with incompatible materials and the construction of permanent and probably irreversible changes to the immediate context of the house. William A. MARTINSON, March 2016 |
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