Originally known as Klaasenbosch (Claasenbosch), The Cellars-Hohenort was the sprawling estate that belonged to the chief surgeon of the Dutch East India Company, Hendrik ten Damme. The land was given to him in a full and free title by Simon van der Stel, Governor of the United Dutch Chartered East Indian Company.
Title Deed – Translation from OLD Dutch
We Simon van der Stel, Council Extraordinary of India, Governor of the United Dutch Chartered East Indian Company at the Cape of Good hope and the island of Mauritius and its dependencies and our Council make known that to Hendrik ten Damme in full and free title was granted, as is hereby given to him, certain piece of land known as An Claasenbosch situated on the south-west side of the Wijnberg, bordering on the south-east to east on the uncultivated land to the bridge over the Diepe River, north-west to west on the upper road to Hout Bay and the Table Mountain, north-east to north on the on the Wijnberg, south-west to south on the veld to Cape False, being the line AB 100 roods long, BC 100, CD 120, DE 420, EF 318, FA150 roods together covering an area of 65 morgen and 206 square roods Rhinelands measurement as is shown by the above diagram ABCDEFA drawn by the surveyor, with full right and authority henceforth to cultivate, graze, build upon and heritable own the aforesaid land, as well as henceforth to sell, let or otherwise alienate it, subject to the approval of authorities, being under the obligation to allow a common wagon road beside his wheat field for the benefit of himself and other inhabitants, as well as a ford 3 roods wide: furthermore he may not chop wood except on his own land and is obliged to replace all chopped down trees with young oak and other trees, furthermore he will bound to pay one-tenth of his crop to the Honourable Company, on condition that the land will forfeited if it should be found that he acted contrary to this stipulation, or if he does not cultivate the land in conformity with the ordinances, in which case the authorities will have the power to confiscate the land and grand it to someone else; the above-mentioned land remains subject to such impositions and taxes and all such public road shall be permitted as the Government prescribed or shall prescribe in future in the interest of the Honourable Company and the common good.
Thus granted and proclaimed at the Caste of Good Hope the 7th September 1693
S. v.d. Stel
By order of the Honourable
Govenour and council
JG de Grevenbroek
Secretary
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