The Dutch Reformed Church built in 1918 is an attractive building that stands behind The Post House. The two national monuments in Greyton is The Post House itself and the building now occupied by Plooms Pottery. Interestingly, electricity was supplied to this quaint village only in the late 1970s.
The Greyt-on-Main building is of particular architectural interest as it is the only one of its kind in Greyton - the façade being quite unique.

MOSAIC FARM HISTORY

For over a century, people have sailed across the lagoon or traveled the old ox-wagon to visit the abandoned “Spookhuis” (Afrikaans for Spook House). Some camped on the grassy shore by the old stone homestead and told scary stories in the moonlit nights. Evidence of their passage was engraved throughout all the plaster walls, one of which commented on the reputation of the house by asserting “This place ain’t haunted”. The Spookhuis is a legend and local landmark.  
 
A twelve month historical restoration returned this enchanting manor house back to its original grandeur. It is now a magnificent facility for weddings, conferences, special events, private parties, and wine dinners.  When the Johnson Family purchased the farm in 2002, the Spookhuis was in a state of complete ruin.  Graffiti filled the walls, floor boards had been torn up and burned inside the home, and doors, windows and most interior trim had been taken out long before.  The only residents of the Spookhuis for over a half century were barn owls, thus the floors were covered with a thick carpet of owl pellets!
 
Cape architect, Gregg Goddard, with his expert knowledge of historical buildings, pieced together building debris to reconstruct the original character of the old homestead.  The house reveals details of the English Georgian Period with a symmetrical façade, spacious proportions of the rooms and windows, and an arched Palladian entry. This style is also evident in the deep-set wooden door and window casings, built-in cupboards, and a central hall.
 

’n Paar van Stanford se buurdorpe - Hermanus en Greyton -het oor die afgelope twee jaar hul 150ste bestaansjaar gevier - 2007 is die jaar vir Stanford.

Dié mooi dorpie op die oewer van die Kleinrivier het ’n vroeë geskiedenis van boerderybedrywighede wat terugdateer na 1729.

Juriaan Appel van die Warmbad by Caledon was die eerste boer wat by Akkedisberg in Kleinrivierskloof ’n weidingspermit ontvang het. Nadat hy met sy veetroppe na elders vertrek het, het verskeie permithouers hom gevolg. In 1801 het die De Villiers familie by Modderrivier, digby vandag se dorp, gevestig. In dieselfde jaar het Christoffel Brand die plaas Kleinrivier Vallei van die regering ontvang.

The Klein River originates as the Hartebees River, 300 metres above mean average sea level on the northern slopes of the Kleinriver Mountain range.  The catchment divide between the headwaters of the Onrus River (flowing west) and the Hartebees/Klein River (flowing east) is clearly visible when traveling along the Hermel-en-Aarde road from Hermanus to Caledon (on the farm Diepgat).

From the confluence of the Hartebees and Klein Rivers (refer to map), the river is officially known as the Klein River.  Three other rivers flow into the Klein River before it curves south and then west to flow into the Atlantic Ocean at the Klein River lagoon.  Although the Klein River is 80 km long, it is the river with the shortest distance between its origin and mouth in the world (5 km as the crow flies)! 

PRE-1857

Waving grasslands and a strong stream of fresh water attracted farmers to the Kleijne River Valleij in the old days.  One of them was Christoffel Brand, who built the first farmstead on the farm Kleine Rivier’s Valley.  This was the house in which Lady Anne Barnard stayed over during her inland journey in 1798.

In 1801 the farm was granted by the British Government to Brand.  The farm changed hands several times until it was bought in 1838 by a prosperous Irish farmer, Robert Stanford.  He made many improvements and built the mill (for grinding wheat) close to the stream that ran close to his farm house.

Being an entrepreneurial spirit, he transported products by sea from a small bay (now known as Stanford’s Cove, close to De Kelders), to Cape Town – rather than using the time-consuming route over the Hottentots-Holland Mountain.  Robert Stanford lost his farm after the Neptune tragedy (read more about this in Stanford Stories II) when, being a half-pay officer, he had to supply the British government in Cape Town with produce from his farm.

Philippus de Bruyn bought the farm in 1855, laid out the village and sold plots of which the first was registered in the name of Duncan McFarlane on 30 September 1857.  The village of Stanford was born.

One of the holiday-makers who will never be forgotten is William Hoy. Like many other great South African settlers, Hoy was born in Scotland. At the age of 12 he left school and set off to Edinburgh where he found work as a junior clerk on the North British Railways, earning twelve shillings per week. Hoy, who had a beautiful copperplate handwriting, started learning Pitman’s shorthand and soon was earning extra pocket money teaching shorthand at night school.

In 1890, a recruiting officer of the Cape Government Railways arrived in Edinburgh. Hoy successfully applied and soon after, arrived in Cape Town. After only two years in the country, he became chief clerk to the Traffic Manager in Kroonstad and a year later, when he was 27 he was the Transvaal agent for the Railways.  During the Anglo-Boer war, Hoy was in charge of Military Railways, co-ordinating the movement of troops, supplies, horses, etcetera. The Scots claim the three R’s as their decree. Hoy’s were the three D’s: Determination, dedication and domination.

Hermanus Pieters, a Dutch teacher from Boontjieskraal near Caledon, used to travel with his small flock of sheep from farm to farm during the school holidays, teaching the local children wherever he stayed. During the early 1830s he trekked over the mountain from Hemel-en-Aarde right down to the sea.  There he discovered a strong fountain and some good grazing for his cattle. Thereafter he returned to the place regularly and told the farmers of the district about the good holidaying and fishing spot he had discovered.

Pieters died in 1837 and was buried at Boontjieskraal. By that time his holiday place was already known as Hermanus Pieters’ Fountain.  In 1854, twelve plots were measured out near the fountain and sold at a public auction in Caledon. Twenty years after the old teacher’s death the Henn family of Herrie’s Bay moved to Hermanuspietersfontein. There they discovered a sheltered little harbour and an abundance of fish. Henn and his sons-in-law were the founding pioneers of the new town known as Hermanuspietersfontein. Not long after they settled there, other families followed and became part of the new development. Michiel Henn built the first house on one of the original plots. This was close to where the Grobbelaar Hall stands today.  Others built their houses on crown land near the harbour, where they paid a nominal rent.

At the heart of a prosperous fruit growing region, Villiersdorp is one of many gems of the Overberg. Ideally situated between Worcester and Grabouw, within driving distance of Franschhoek, this picturesque little town and its friendly inhabitants enjoy a peaceful life in a quiet valley.