Home of the Rhodes Scholarships and venue for wedding receptions and business events, Rhodes House is a magnificent building with a captivating history.
Completed in 1928, as a memorial to British diamond magnate and imperial statesman Cecil Rhodes, the house is headquarters of the Rhodes Trust. Rhodes House itself reflects a number of influences: Cape Dutch farmhouse, English country mansion, and the arts and crafts movements of the 1900’s. The House can be hired on an exclusive basis or non-exclusive basis, making it ideal for a range of events from small business meetings in a single room through to large scale celebrations, such as wedding ceremonies and receptions.
Three ground floor rooms are available, the Milner Hall, the Beit Room and the Jameson Room named after three of the original Trustees: Lord Milner, Alfred Beit and Sir Leander Starr Jameson. There are also two first floor function rooms, the Rosebery Room and the Saïd Foundation Boardroom. The Rosebery Room formerly housed the Bodleian Library collections relating to history and government of the Commonwealth and African Studies, and the Saïd Foundation Boardroom offers videoconferencing facilities for small presentations or board meetings. In addition, there is a grand, circular, domed entrance hall known as the Rotunda, which opens into the Parkin Vestibule. From here you walk through to an oak-panelled gallery, reminiscent of a Cape Dutch stoep – a covered verandah. Step outside and you’ll find yourself within the beautifully maintained, award winning English gardens offering green lawns, gravel pathways and herbaceous borders. This secluded garden which catches sun from early morning to late evening, is perfect for photographic shoots and garden parties with the west lawn large enough for a marquee.
