Melrose House was designed for Mr. George Heyes by a British architect, W T Vale. The house was in the possession of the family until 1968, when it was purchased by the City Council of Pretoria for use as a museum. The structure of the house remained unchanged through the years and most of the furniture and decorative objects that belonged to the family were bought with the house. Between 1990 and 1992 major restoration work was done on the house and furnishings, showing Melrose House today as it must have looked in the period 1895-1905.
An excellent example of a modern kitchen at the turn of the nineteenth century showing the original hearth and kitchen utensils. Cast iron was produced commercially in Britain and exported to the British colonies on a large scale. Kitchenware made of cast iron and other new materials such as aluminum largely replaced the wooden and copper objects used during the previous centuries.
The Heys family enjoyed breakfast in the morning room. They spent time there until the rest of the house was cleaned by the servants. The silver epergne on the table was a wedding gift to Mr and Mrs Heys in 1873.
During the Anglo-Boer War Melrose House was used as the headquarters of the British forces in South Africa and Lord Kitchener used the morning room as his office.
This room is currently furnished as the nursery as it could have been used when the Heys daughters were small. The wallpaper is a reproduction of the original and the curtains and upholstery are copies of historical textiles.
The entrance hall was originally painted light green when the house was built in 1886. Some structural changes to the interior, including the arches in the entrance hall as well as the drawing room and the wallpapers were added in c. 1895. The main staircase leading off the entrance hall was not used by the servants. They used the narrow servant's staircase at the entrance to the kitchen. The main staircase has a Flemish carpet, similar to the floral design of the original carpet. The original brass rods keep the carpet in place. The stained glass window at the landing of the staircase, the Lay of the Last Minstrel, was designed by A L Moore.
The study was decorated with "The Rose" wallpaper and matching frieze by William Morris. The stained glass windows contain portraits of Milton and Shakespeare and quotes from their works. The french doors open to a veranda at the back of the house.
The element for the heating system in the hall and landing was installed in the fireplace of the study.
The wallpaper is a reproduction of the original in blue, designed by Kate Faulkner in 1879 for William Morris and Co. The furniture in the room belonged to the Heys family and the room was used by the Heys daughters. The curtains and upholstery are copies of historical textiles.
Melrose House in generally regarded as one of the best surviving examples of late-Victorian architecture in South Africa. Today the house museum presents a view on the lifestyle of an affluent upper-middle class family towards the end of the nineteenth century.
The style of Melrose House can be described as Queen Anne Revival or Picturesque, an eclectic combination of stylistic elements popular at the turn of the nineteenth century.
These windows were bought per panel to fit into doors and windows. The stained glass windows on the main staircase and the middle panel of the billiard room were hand painted.
The main bedroom was used by Mr and Mrs Heys until c1905. They then converted the family dining room (currently the exhibition room) into a bedroom and used the main bedroom as a guest room. The arrangement of the furniture in the main bedroom corresponds to the layout on the historical photograph. The curtains and upholstery are copies of historical textiles.
The billiard room as well as the conservatory, cloak room, kitchen, scullery and pantry were part of the extensions to the house made c1895. The family dining room, currently the large exhibition room was also enlarged in this period to include part of the veranda on the eastern side of the house.
The stained glass windows in the center panel were designed by A L Moore and forms a smoking nook at the window. The billiard table and the rest of the furniture as well as the lights and original linoleum, form part of the appearance of the room c1895.
The Peace Treaty of Vereeniging, signifying the end of the Anglo-Boer War was signed in the dining room of Melrose House on 31 May 1902. This historical event took place when Melrose House was occupied as the headquarters of the British Forces in South Africa. The original dining room table is made of Burmese teak. The three matching mahogany buffets date from the end of the nineteenth century. The Turkish Smyrna carpet was original to the room and made to match the dimensions of the room. The room was used largely for entertainment by the Heys family in the form of dinner parties and balls.
The wallpaper, carpets and paint colours in the landing correspond with those of the entrance hall. As in the rest of the house, the colours of the woodwork and walls are a true reproduction of the original colours. The Flemish carpets on the landing are similar in design to the carpets used on the landing.
The organ was manufactured by the Estey Organ Company of Vermont in the USA. It was bought in America by Mr Heys during one of his business trips.
The current appearance of the drawing room is a reproduction of the redecoration of the room after the Anglo-Boer War. This was done with compensation money received by the Heys family from the British government for the use of Melrose House as headquarters during the war. The room was damaged by a bomb blast in 1990, after which the ceiling, wallpaper, curtains and carpet had to be replaced with copies of the original. It was possible to restore the original furniture and most of the porcelain.