Page 63 - KBHA BULLETIN 3

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On 24 January 1894, Eliza Zimmerman Jones (born Cartwright), widow of David Jones,

bought Dalebrook House from the deceased estate of William George Anderson. The three
executors of the estate were his two sons, (T. J. and W. G. Jnr.) who were both partners in the

firm Anderson and Murison, and a William James Anderson.

Mrs Jones paid £1,500 but her occupancy was also fairly short-lived. She sold Dalebrook

House in 1901 to John Tregidga (butcher) and Thomas Mossop (tanner) who formed a

company trading as Tregidga and Mossop. The sale was for £3,000 and involved a Mr Otto
Eduard Ludwig Struck. By some unaccountable error the property was transferred into Mr

Struck’s name. He was manager of the Kalk Bay branch of the Tregidga butchery. Struck died

in 1904 and in the winding up of his estate Mrs Struck had to renounce ownership of
Dalebrook House and the error was rectified. The property was then transferred to the correct

owners Messrs John Tregidga and Thomas Mossop on 21 May 1904.

A regular advertisement at the turn of the century in the Wynberg Times described it as a

“First Class Boarding House with large balcony facing the sea. Late dinners, excellent

cuisine, terms moderate. A. B. Ellis Proprietor”. Tregidga and Mossop did extensive
upgrading to all the bathrooms and the main pantry in May 1910, and at the end of 1917

further refurbishment and extensive decorating was undertaken. Captain and Mrs. Phipps

were appointed the new lessees for the summer season but on the morning of Friday 4
January 1918 disaster struck. Dalebrook House was gutted by fire and razed to the ground.

The Cape Times report of Saturday 5 January is self-explanatory.

BUILDING GUTTED AT KALK BAY
DESTRUCTION OF AN OLD LANDMARK.

“A disastrous fire occurred at Kalk Bay shortly after 8 o’clock yesterday morning which involved the
destruction of Dalebrook House, one of the oldest landmarks in the neighbourhood. It was while the
visitors and boarders were at breakfast that the alarm of fire was given. This led to an immediate
stampede from the dining-room. It was then found that the thatched roof of the house was on fire.
Some sparks from the chimney had evidently set the material alight, and fanned by a stiff south-easter
the flames spread with alarming rapidity.

An alarm was phoned to the Muizenberg fire station, but although assistance was speedily rendered
the roof fell in before the arrival of the brigade, so fast and fiercely had the fire laid hold of the
structure. Subsequently the brigade with a powerful machine from the Claremont sub-station arrived,
but owing to the weak pressure of water in the mains, their efforts to save the building were of little
avail.