Durban - The entrance to the bedroom was through cream-painted swing doors, inset with stained glass windows. Stepping through was like passing through a time warp, and Caversham is certainly redolent with history. While the past beckoned, it was for the moment nudged aside by the present.
Although the wood and iron Victorian-style cottages (built to house managers at Caversham Mill) date back to the early 1900s, they have all the comforts of modern living. Only the cottage in which I stayed is a recent addition, but it, too, is built to fit the historical tradition.
All are situated in rolling gardens, where ancient trees hold sway; are self-catering, with fridge/freezer, stove, microwave and braai facilities with wood provided. Floors and ceilings have the original Oregon wood, while cozy fireplaces keep the sneaky fingers of winter at bay.
My large lounge was full of character with an ornate fireplace surrounded by stone and tiles; the bath and shower modern; the television set concealed in a wooden cupboard, so as not to detract from the character of the place. The view was not only of the garden, but of rolling hills, dotted with cattle.
The beautifully restored house has three suites, a formal lounge, library, TV lounge, and when guests book the entire house they have access to an open-plan kitchen. Designed by Durban architect Robert Bruse, its yellowwood front doors open into a gallery with a baronial central fireplace. The turn-of-the-century mosaic tiling on the floor of this gallery comes from the old Pietermaritzburg Post Office.
After lunch at the restaurant, it was time to explore the ruins of the old mill, then take a leisurely stroll alongside the Lions River. A couple of stone benches invite you to sit and take in the scene of the confluence of the Lions and Impafana Rivers – a noisy, turbulent meeting amid boulders. Two labradors settled beside me, but their amiable silence ended on the walk home when, incensed by some cheeky vervet monkeys, they barked frantically.
Early the next morning, armed with a steaming cup of coffee, I sat on a communal deck high above the forest, with a splendid view of the confluence of the two rivers from a more lofty perch. Fancifully, I imagined their union as being similar to a marriage – the rocks indicative of a family spat, then finally settled acceptance and flowing gently together through the countryside of old-age.
Birds flitted and called. Strolling back across the dew-spotted lawn, it was time for an invigorating dip in the somewhat chilly swimming pool.
For me the history of this country idyll – currently owned by Terry and Diana Acres – is a big drawcard. “This is where the Midland Meander began, when David and Michelle Walters; Andy and Helen Shuttleworth; Joy and Robin Standing; Wim and Tina de Roubaix; Ian Glenny; Kali Griffin and Lindsay Scott got together and came up with an idea to replicate the famous Wine Route of the Cape,” said Diana.
In its early days there were only six or seven studios in the area. They decided to pool their advertising, recommended customers visit the other studios, craftsmen and galleries, and sometimes held joint exhibitions of their products on the same weekend.
David Walters drew a rough map from one studio to the next, showing roads and towns of interest; then he approached hoteliers and restaurateurs, asking if they would help by advertising on this map. He says this proved the most difficult part of the concept and he only managed to raise R15. His sister, Jenny Hobbs, a journalist and writer, came up with the name Midlands Meander and in 1985 it took its first tentative steps.
But long before this inspired decision, two brothers took a chance in the hope of changing their fortunes. Richard Gower Hodson, 17, and James Jefferies Hodson, 15, set sail from London on board the ship Nile in June 1850. Travelling in the care of their uncle and aunt, Dr and Mrs Gower, and their four daughters, they were part of the Lidgett settlers.
Also on board were the Franklin family, with two sons and four daughters. Young James fell in love with one of these girls, Jane, and was later to marry her.
On arriving in the midlands by oxwagon, the Hodson brothers acquired three plots of land, calling one Caversham. Here on the banks of the river they built a mill around 1852/53 (some believe it was 1858). The first water-driven mill in Natal opened for business.
Meanwhile, the Franklins had left for Australia, but returned to South Africa in 1852, and James and Jane married in 1857. They moved into the little “Slab House” James built for his bride. As the brothers had meanwhile purchased 21 plots from settlers who decided to leave, some claim he built a homestead on this for Jane.
After James’s marriage, brother Richard (a piano tuner) sold his share to James and joined a partner in the timber industry. In 1888 James bought iron machinery from a mill on the Umsindusi River in Pietermaritzburg. This resulted in slow grinding of the grain, to retain its flavour. Farmers came from as far as the Orange Free State and Transvaal to have their wheat and maize ground here.
In the 1860s, after the last lion was shot on the farm, the river was renamed Lions River. In 1887, a veld fire raged through the Balgowan Valley, destroying the tiny settlement at Caversham. Only the church escaped. The Hodsons lost everything.
A man of many talents, James held different positions: postmaster at Caversham; field cornet during the Langalibilele Rebellion; sheep inspector; Justice of the Peace. Both he and his wife are buried in the Caversham churchyard. Their son Richard continued to operate the mill until its closure in 1935 due to the Mealie Act. The mill fell into disrepair; then along came potter David Walters in 1978, and he and his father restored the mill, using it as a pottery studio.
Tragedy again struck when in September 1987 the Lions River flooded. The old mill was destroyed and a heartbroken David sold to Dr John Buckle who established a paper and art restoration business.
Peter and Faye Cooper started the Caversham Mill restaurant in 1996, followed by Mark and Marion Macaskill. In 2004 Terry and Diana bought the restaurant.
Contact: 033 940 0145; 033 234 4524; Cell 072 125 3392; e-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.cavershammill.co.za
The Mercury