About halfway to everywhere in South Africa, a few kilometers off the great North South N1 highway at Springfontein lies the historical farm Prior Grange.

Family owned since 1860, Prior Grange was named after the second owner Joshua Prior II who inherited this section of farm from his father, Joshua I, upon the latter’s death in 1895.

Joshua’s sister Lucy, after the Anglo Boer War acquired the ground from her brother and farmed here until 1947, when she sold it to her grandnephew, Louis Wilmot.

He expanded the merino business and improved the farm and with his wife Jean established a beautiful homestead and English garden shaded by huge trees first planted by the Priors.

Louis and Jean’s daughter, Sheryl and her husband Blackie De Swardt took over the farming operations in 1985 and ten years later opened the first guest cottage.  This was done in a double storeyed century old storeroom at one time a school room.

Since then five more cottages followed:

Three in the garden quite separate from each other.
Two more cottages can accommodate guests next to the cricket oval.

To carry on the farming tradition, Blackie and Sheryl’s son Stephen joined them in 2010. With Stephen and his wife Pieta, the De Swardt’s form a team of hosts that will see to all their guest’s needs and hope to carry on the tradition of hospitality and heritage.

A unique feature of Prior Grange is its own cricket oval.  Established in 1998, it serves as a pasture and for matches is prepared into a beautiful oval, complete with white picket fence, sight screens, score board and clubhouse. Home of Springfontein Cricket Club.

The Southern Free State and Springfontein is steeped in Boer War history.  A good starting point for exploration is Prior Grange’s own Boer War Museum.  It may be visited at any time.

To make your Boer War experience even more realistic, a blockhouse from the time was restored at Prior Grange and can be visited.

The Loft pub at Prior Grange Guest Farm houses a large collection of memorabilia and books.  Guests are encouraged to enjoy pre dinner drinks between six and seven pm.

It was Joshua Prior I who started farming with merinos in the mid 1800’s.  Tradition is carried on to this day and merinos are farmed for their wool and meat.