Law abiding citizens might soon be able to boast they have spent “time” in an old “house of terror” when Johannesburg advertising executive Derek White and his business partner, Cecil Barry, open their home in Bedford’s renovated old jail.

Although they haven’t finalised how they will operate the business side of things, the are determined to provide visitors with luxury accommodation.

The building is old, but the furniture, although based on old style with four-poster type beds, will be new.

Shortly after moving into property development White and Barry scanned the internet in search of possible investments.

A “for sale” online advert for the old jail, caught their attention and after contacting the owners, they were invited to spend a weekend in the old building.

“We literally walked in on a Saturday and fell in love with it from the word go.

"By Sunday morning we had signed an offer to purchase,” said White.

Built right up to the edge of the property line in Adderley Street, the front of the neat stone brick building is pretty unassuming and could be mistaken for a simple Victorian Karoo residence.

But this impression is very misleading for the building stretches right through the plot all the way to Hope Street at the back.

The exterior construction detail of the warder’s residence is a lot more refined than the cells behind.

The original prisoner's entrance on the side of the building was bricked up but White reopened it and greatly improved the flow of air through the complex.

He installed a wrought iron gate and intends installing a solid door behind it to keep the facility warmer during the cold winters.

Whilst the building is surrounded by a five metre high wall, it’s a different story inside.

“You can close the front door and you're in your own small little town,” said White.

That’s not too much of an exaggeration for the building has five courtyards with little rooms and little passageways creating the impression you’re in some sort of medieval village.

“That's for me is the most charming. It's not one building, it's a complex of buildings,” he said.

The design of the building can only be called a maze, what with all it’s twists and turns.

Through close examination of the walls and comparisons with the other cell building, it was discovered at least one outside cell was demolished at some stage to make room for a private interior courtyard.

Four of the rooms in the building will be used as bedrooms.

The main building, which one assumes was used by the prison guards, has beautiful high ceilings and yellowwood floors and is in very good condition.

The layout is somewhat strange because the authorities simply "stuck on" more rooms when they were needed.

One of the previous owners broke down some of the interior walls of the central courtyard buildings and created what White calls the “hall”.

Unfortunately the original roof over the hall was removed and in order to provide adequate support for the long span, there is now a huge pine rafter.

“I've spent a lot of time in the big hall in the evening with a fire going, drinking a glass of wine and wondering what happened in this place, the significance of where we are.

"Just enjoying it but thinking it was once a place of terror,” he said.

The building has been added to many times over the years, as can be seen by the varying standards and styles of construction.

For example, the front wall enclosing a concrete verandah is a later addition as are the wings on either side of the building.

One of the problems with adding to a stone building is the walls cannot be "sunken into" during construction.

When the building was extended, the new section was simply butted up against the old. Apart from all the additions, various owners have attempted to renovate the building.

“The property has been renovated more than once.

"In fact, as far as we understand, its been renovated as many as five times,” said White.

“All the renovations, until when we bought the building, were done very cheaply and nothing was original. It was all just slapped on and done in a very haphazard kind of way.

“So we stripped all those things out to begin with (including) a little out-building we demolished completely,” he said.

The wall mounted geysers were also taken out.

White had the plaster from the walls removed to expose the original stone in certain areas and had the concrete floors replaced with brick floors.

“All the wiring was illegal, so we brought that all up to specification and then we started working on the cosmetics.

“The first few months of renovation were spent mainly demolishing and re-installing plumbing and electrical,” said White.

“The stone its so hard one cannot slice into it (with an angle grinder) and run conduits through.

"So the builder literally chooses the path of least resistance, chips out the old mortar, inserts twin and earth electrical cable and then replasters over it," he said.

The electrical wiring has been led through the mortar holding the old stones.

There are very few places where you can actually see the alteration work.

Visitors would be totally unaware of it unless they specifically looked for it.

“It was a hell of a process to say the least,” said White.

During the renovation half of the flooring was dug up.

To their surprise they found a couple of steel tools and little bits of porcelain buried under the ground.

One of the old cells, which has been turned into a library, will house these artifacts and other items of historical interest.

White and Barry also hope to get original plans of the jail from the library in town and have them displayed on the premises.

“Being an art lover I have a number of friends in Johannesburg who own galleries.

They are very keen to hang significant South African art in the building.

“We're looking at using (the jail) possibly as a gallery (but) we're not sure yet. What better place to house expensive, priceless pieces of art than in a prison. It's quite secure in the jail.

“I think, in a nutshell, it will be a private residence which will be opened up as a guest house during the festival and possibly a private art gallery for the rest of the year.” said White.

The old jail, with its magnificently attired kitchen might achieve fame in an unexpected manner, revealed White.

A BBC film crew have shown interest in shooting a cooking series in the old building.

Maybe they’re hoping for a captive audience.

 

Text: Copyright Ivor Markman 2013.