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Fig. 2.20: Rust en Vrede, Abe Bailey’s mansion. (RRW). After Rhodes’ death Bailey
purchased the site and commissioned H Baker & Masey Architects to design his house.
The builder was RH Morris.
It had many similarities with the one Rhodes had intended for the site: “ …. the central
feature of the house is the lounge or sitting room, a spacious apartment with white
vaulted roof. In this room the walls are lined with Cippolino Marble. The large recessed
fireplace with seats on each side is flashed by columns of the same material, and the
harmonious blending of the peculiar pattern in its various shades of greens and greys
produces an effect most pleasing and artistic.
As a summer residence there can be no doubt that the owner and his friends will find the
stoep, or more correctly in this case the loggia, one of the most useful parts of the house.
From this stoep, the views of sea and mountains beyond are unsurpassed. Here one can
sit in the open air, protected from the glare of the sun and the anger of the South-Easter,
the beauty of the outlook enhanced by the provision of Orange trees and other plants and
flowers.” The SA Architect and Builder, November 1904, 214 – 215.

Today: the mansion is little changed except that the front of the loggia has been tastefully
enclosed with glass panels to control the local climate. The general setting has scarcely
changed at all.