Then and Now: “Pendennis”, 457 Musgrave Road

The rambling Victorian mansion, “Pendennis”, was the home of Francis Carne Brokensha for over three decades. It was probably built for him in 1882. Born in 1850 at St Just in Cornwall (England), he came to Durban in 1872 after completing his apprenticeship at Penzance. He joined Harvey, Greenacre and Co. in West Street, working his way up, first as a manager from 1875 and then as a partner from 1907.

In 1875, newly promoted as a manager, he married Ellen, the daughter of William Cowey. Together they had 13 children who easily filled his new home set on large grounds. He named it “Pendennis” after the artillery fort, Pendennis Castle, constructed for Henry VIII in Brokensha’s native Cornwall. Throughout his life, Brokensha was a devout Methodist, occupying every position open to a layman. For some years he was the President of the Durban Alliance for the control of the Liquor Traffic. Other members included an archdeacon and a bevy of reverends.

Musgrave Road during Brokensha’s time had a number of large properties owned by prominent businessmen. Numbered 451, but later 457, his next door neighbour was George Payne who owned “Overdale” and the rival drapers, Payne Brothers. With the later subdivisions, it is difficult today to believe that the two houses were once neighbours. On the opposite side and further down Musgrave Road was Brokensha’s boss, Sir Benjamin Greenacre at the “Caister” and later at number 172, his son Walter Greenacre.

Three of Brokensha’s sons also had their first jobs at Greenacres, with one of them, E. Stanley Brokensha, later becoming a director of the company. By the 1930s, he too was prominent in Durban with his involvement in the Community Chest, Stella Football Club, Natal Kennel Club (he bred fox terriers) and the Durban Publicity Association, of which he was a foundation member.

The family did not hold onto “Pendennis”. Like “Overdale”, the property was subdivided in the 1920s. On one side, Mr Passmore built a new house while Pendennis itself was converted into a boarding house, which it remained for many years. It was eventually demolished.

Today, six townhouses numbered 449 to 459 Musgrave Road stand on a portion of the original site. The complex is named “Pendennis Gardens.”

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