Escutcheon Plates
A client built a replica of Groote Schuur Manor House, and requested these plates. They are replicas of the door escutcheons found on Groote Schuur’s back stoep, one of Rhodes’s favourite places for entertaining his guests. The doors were moved from the castle by Herbert Baker when the Imhoff battery was demolished in 1896. Without making this a history lesson, it looks like the Imhoff battery had a French connection, so I might be right if I make the assumption that these plates could be of French design. I would love to take Groote Schuur’s plates off to see if there is a name on the back.
I am often left speechless by the craftsmanship of the time, taking into account the limited resources they had. If only those plates could speak they would tell you one helluva story!
Francois van Zyl
