The Old Rectory

Plettenberg Bay’s oldest surviving building was identified on a 1777 map as

“verblyf voor het volk” (essentially “visitors’ accommodation”)

The original was a square block of stinkwood, inscribed with the latitude and longitude of Plettenberg Bay, and erected to enable mariners to check their location. It was replaced by a stone one by Captain Sewell in 1881 and can be seen in the Gardens of the current Beacon Isle Hotel.