Lythwood Lodge Overview & Comments

Boutique, Conferences, Hotel, Self Catering, Weddings in Midlands, KwaZulu-Natal   

Rates From: R890

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Overview & Comments

"Lythwood" means place of stone and its origin is derived from the stone extracted from the old quarry on the 275 acre estate which was used to build Lythwood Lodge in 1944. A certain Dr. L V Pearson who was a well known orthopaedic surgeon acquired the estate in 1942 and using volunteer Italian prisoners of war captured in the East and North Africa campaigns built the main structure of the manor house that exists today. The skill of these Italians, notably in their metal and woodwork transformed the property into a gracious house. 

After the property had changed hands a number of times the current owners Michael and Ann Peacock took possession in 1996 and opened the property as an hotel in June 1997.

The first inhabitants in the Midlands area were the San people (Bushmen) who were nomadic cave dwellers and existed by hunting the vast herds of game that moved between the Drakensberg and the coastal region. Later the Midlands region became the hunting grounds of the Zulu kings and when the first European settlers arrived around 1850 there were no permanent residents, which created a serious labour problem for the farmers. Over time that changed and today it remains a farming community mainly involved in the dairy and cattle industry.