Richmond House History

Richmond House, the magnificent 7-acre viewsite property overlooking the Kowie River mouth and East Beach, has a fascinating 180-year-old history.

The Hon William Cock, 1820 Cornish Settler and entrepreneur, decided to convert the Kowie Estuary into a port to help bring prosperity to the E Frontier. He built his home on the Kowie west bank hill in 1840, named it Richmond House and added crenellations to the facade. It soon became known as Cock's Castle. Nineteenth century colonialism, settlement and military conflict – all pivotal in the story of our nation – were played out in this part of the E Cape, and William Cock, Richmond House and Port Kowie were all ‘witnesses’ to it.

In later decades the Pote family, the Ohlsson brewers and then Tom Kelly each owned and altered the Castle, in turn.

By 1999 Richmond House was deteriorating and it changed hands for the last time. Following protracted negotiations with heritage authorities a permit was finally granted allowing demolition. Everything that could be salvaged from the Castle has been displayed in a specially-renovated Castle replica, the RH Museum and Music Room, decorated in Edwardian style, where tours and nearly 50 soirees have been hosted.

The Museum

RH Museum is open to the public, by arrangement. It is a renovated 1940s structure which houses, inter alia, 14 fascinating illustrated panels of history, a replica of The Castle's original front door, fireplaces, flagstaff, light fittings and some historic paintings are on display. To mark the Bicentennial of William Cock’s arrival in South Africa, a book ‘Cock Tales on the Kowie,’ was published in 2020. For more information, contact us.