nostalgia*
Emberton's
LEGACY A BEAUTIFUL MANOR HOUSE THAT SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS, WRITES KATRINE ANKER-NILSSEN
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any moons ago the Upper Highway area consisted of pioneering characters who possessed a strong sense of community. The Field family, after which Fields Hill is now named, farmed where Kloof now lies. Their neighbouring Gillitt family owned a piece of land further west, encompassing the area we now know as Gillitts. Hillcrest was always a sought-after destination, and townsfolk from Durban would catch a train to the hills and spend a weekend enjoying the fresh country air and cooler climate. The quaint railway stations that dot the line to Pietermaritzburg are a testament to that time. As the years passed, the popularity of the area continued to grow as families sent their children to many of the private schools available. With the influx of applicants for schooling, there came a desperate need for housing. From the late 1990s, developers started rolling out gated estates across the Upper Highway area. Most of these estates come at a price that excludes young professionals and first-time home buyers,
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TOP: The orginal Emberton manor house had beautiful copper gutters. ABOVE: The beautiful garden, with Clifton Gillitt (front) and Sheila and Tom Halsted. LEFT: The estate’s clubhouse today. however the three-year-old Emberton Estate differs. Located on the original Emberton farm, last farmed by Russell and Barbara Halsted, the estate has managed to keep the farm’s legacy going through its beautiful manor house. Russell has a big green suitcase with a wonderful collection of fascinating historical titbits – such as photos, letters and title deeds. “My mother was a great scribe and she recorded everything growing up,” he says. William Gillitt senior came out from Emberton, Buckinghamshire and settled in Wyebank in 1849 – with his wife, five daughters and William junior. In 1870 William junior bought 500 acres further up the hill and named it Emberton, after his birthplace, building a house on the property. William junior died in 1899, when his son Cliff was only 11, but his mother continued to run the farm until she passed on in 1922. Two years later Cliff
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