Stellenbosch, Meerlust

Abstract

Photographs and information of the bell at Meerlust wine estate outside Stellenbosch. From a distance the Meerlust Wine Estate outside Stellenbosch has a very pretty bell with good dimensions, 30cm in height and close to 40 cm in diameter. Getting closer one has to observe that the bell has been painted black, probably to make it stand out against the white of the horseshoe construction in which it is hanging. According to Fransen-Cook, the bell-tower is the most elegant in the entire Cape area. No decorations can be retrieved apart from a large number of moulding wires: 2 below the crown, two sets of 3 just below the shoulder, 8 above the sound bow and another 3 on the lip. The bell should be quite old. The winery has an illustrated guide to the estate in which there is a fair number of illustrations with the bell tower on it. The oldest such illustration dating from 1798, has been made by Johann Frederici. The location of the bell tower is very pronounced in the middle of this illustration. The current owners claim that the bell tower has been there for more than 300 years which is not impossible but quite unlikely.