The Cock House guesthouse and restaurant in Grahamstown, one of the town’s most historical buildings, was put up for sale earlier this year for R3,95-million. It was built for an ivory merchant and later owned by author Andre P Brink. Past guests include Nelson Mandela and the Irish poet and Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney. A national heritage site, the Market Street property has been run as a guesthouse since 1991 by present owner Belinda Tudge. She and her husband, Peter, who died in 2003, bought the house in 1990.
The original plot of land was granted to Benjamin Norden in May 1826. A a Jewish merchant and pioneer from London who became one of Grahamstown's well-known citizens and successful ivory trader, he also was responsible for the inauguration of the first Jewish congregation in South Africa. In 1835 he sold the plot and premises to Dr John Atherstone for £850.00. He was the most prominent among Grahamstown's first medical practitioners and a former resident surgeon at Guy's Hospital in London. He was also the father of Dr William Guyborne Atherstone, who identified the Eureka diamond in 1867 which led to the diamond rush in South Africa.
In the 1870s the property passed to the Honourable William Cock, a Cornish settler of 1820 who is best known for establishing the original harbour at Port Alfred at the mouth of the Kowie River. He built up a fortune through trading beef to the British army and to St Helena and Mauritius, and established a shipping line to carry the cargo. He died there in 1876 and the guesthouse is named after him.
Towards the end of the 1800s, the Webber family owned the house and renamed the property Adelphi House. In the early 1900s John Henry Webber, then Mayor of Grahamstown, added a Burmese teak trellis-work veranda. Renowned South African author Andre P Brink wrote four of his novels while living there from 1971 to 1981, including Dry White Season and Rumours of Rain. He was responsible for much of the initial restoration work. The room which he had used as his study was converted into a library.
Because the building is a heritage site, its exterior cannot be changed. The old yellowwood ceilings and beams in the stables were recycled to create the bar and most of the tables and desks.