Page 202 - KBHA BULLETIN 6

Seahurst

On the corner past Leighton Road stand the St. James Terraces constructed in 1994. Once
this was the site of a large holiday home belonging to H. M. Arderne, son of R. H. Arderne,

the Claremont timber merchant. It was a long ranch-type, thatched, single storey home and
was built circa 1890. The house was either demolished or destroyed by fire in 1898, for at

the turn of the century a beautiful Tudor style home "Seahurst" was built. This was later
linked to a home on its Kalk Bay side and the two houses formed the Seahurst Hotel, which

later became the Robin Gordon Hotel.

Kimberley House

On the Kalk Bay side of the Seahurst Hotel stand "Kimberley Cottage" and "Craigside".
"Craigside" stands on the site of the home of Sir John Molteno, Governor of the Cape and

first Premier of the Cape Colony after Westminster had granted the Cape Responsible
Government in 1872. Sir John was known as "The Lion of Beaufort" as his first

constituency was Beaufort West - a seat he held in the Cape Parliament on entering
politics. He had no less than 16 children from 3 wives – he was certainly a "lion". His first

wife died very young while he was in Beaufort West.

Despondently he returned to Cape Town and later married Elizabeth Jarvis who bore him 4

girls and 8 boys, of whom ten reached adulthood. After her death he married Sibella Maria
Blenkins (later Lady Molteno) who bore him one daughter and three sons. When he died in

1886 his wife Lady Sibella inherited the home (later known as "Mentone") on 30 May
1890. (D.T. 476). It is of note that the original house showed a building on the northside

which was later subdivided off as "Kimberley House".

Lady Sibella sold the two buildings, which still stood on one erf, to James Alexander

Gibson on 28 September 1893 (D.T. 544), who sold the erf to James Lawrie Williams on 3

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