Garden Route Unearthed

Enjoy tea and scones every Wednesday in The Manor House at Portland Manor

Last weekend I discovered that Portland Manor, which is located just off the Seven Passes Road in Rheenendal near Knysna, has started serving “tea and cream scones” in the Manor House every Wednesday. This was an opportunity not to be missed. Time for Bryan and I to be a bit decadent and treat ourselves.

If you would like to enjoy this experience, it is necessary to call and book in advance, so I phoned Portland Manor and was advised Tea and Scones are served anytime from 10 am to 3pm on Wednesdays.

We booked for 2pm and were really looking forward to it. I mean, who doesn’t love a good scone smothered with homemade jam and topped with whipped cream!

The next couple of days seemed to drag by, but finally Wednesday arrived.

After getting caught in the stop-and-go on the N2 just outside Sedgefield, we eventually arrived at Portland Manor at about 2.20pm.

To reach Portland Manor, you turn left off the N2 about 15kms after Sedgefield in the direction of Knysna.

This is the Rheenendal Road. After about 8kms, you will see the Portland Mini Market store on your right-hand side and just past this building take the right-hand dirt road, sign posted to Portland Manor.

After about 0.5kms you turn left, following the signs to Portland Manor and The Cowshed. The dirt road becomes two concrete strips and this road takes you straight to Portland Manor.

Watch out for the numerous speed bumps along this road and be prepared to give way to oncoming vehicles.

On either side of the road you will pass rows and rows of orange trees and ahead of you are beautiful views of the Outeniqua Mountains.

After about 1km you will pass through an automatic gate, then after a further 1km, is the entrance gate to Portland Manor.

Portland Manor Hotel is the main building you will first notice as you continue up the driveway and The Manor House is the building slightly to right and behind it. You can park to the right of the Hotel, under the shaded parking.

The Manor House has recently undergone renovations and has been beautifully restored to represent the times (the 19th Century) of when the Manor House was first built.

We were met at the door and taken on a short tour of the Manor House, which is included in your booking for tea and scones.

During the tour we learnt some of the history of this incredible building.

Henry Barrington was born in 1808, in Berkshire in the South of England and earned a law degree at Christ Church, Oxford, following which he became a barrister at the London Bar. However, Henry did not enjoy the work and by the age of 30 years old, found himself briefly in South Africa.

He returned to England, but remained unsettled there, so in 1842 he undertook a second journey t0 South Africa.

This journey proved to be quite an adventure, as he argued with Captain Jacobs, the commander of the ship he was traveling on and ended up challenging Captain Jacobs to a duel. Upon arriving at Cape Town, they fought their duel with pistols and Henry Barrington was seriously wounded in the battle.

Once Henry had recovered from his wounds, he travelled to the Garden Route where he had a chance meeting in George with Thomas Duthie (owner of The Belvidere Estate on the banks of the Knysna Lagoon – read our blog on The Bell Tavern to find out more about Thomas Duthie).

Shortly after arriving in the Garden Route, Henry Barrington bought the 2,188 ha Portland Farm from Thomas Duthie for £400 and a great friendship flourished between the two men.

In 1860 Barrington began building the Manor House on Portland Farm for his family (himself, his wife and his 3 sons and 4 daughters). The Manor House consisted of many large rooms, filled with furniture and family heirlooms imported from England, and a huge library stocked with numerous books as well as legal volumes gathered throughout his profession.

The Manor House was completed in 1868, but devastatingly, in February 1869 a fire of unimaginable proportions swept through the entire district from Swellendam to Humansdorp, destroying everything in its path and the Manor House was burnt to the ground.

Despite Barrington losing everything in the fire, he immediately set to rebuilding his Manor House and had it completed in 1871. This is the Manor House that still stands today.

After our short tour, we were then served tea (or coffee) and scones in the Dining Room of the Manor House. Having just learnt some of the history of the house, it was easy to imagine Henry and his wife, Georgiana, entertaining their guests in this spectacular home. I wonder if they also served tea and scones!

Needless to say, the scones were absolutely delicious.

The scones were moist and well risen, the jam was thick, sweet and sticky and the whipped cream dolloped on the top, was scrumptious!

After our tea and scones, Bryan and I decided to take a little wander around the grounds of Portland Manor. It is a beautiful setting, with well tendered lawns and flower beds, a kitchen herb garden, benches for guests to sit and admire the view and of course, the beautiful old 19th century buildings.

Portland Manor, is in a stunning location and their “Tea and cream scones” are definitely worth going to on Wednesdays. the cost (at the time of writing) is R65 per person.

You can also spend the day at Portland Manor fishing in their Dam for bass and The Cowshed Restaurant has a number of different events going on throughout the week, so be sure to check out their social media pages.

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