21/04/2026
The story of Emily Hobhouse
We have been living at Wainsford for 5 years and invariably trot out the usual suspects as recommended destinations: Bodmin Jail, Eden Project and of course a plethora of local beaches. Yet lurking just a few miles away at St Ive is a destination that is an absolute must. It is the story of Emily Hobhouse. Heard of her: nope, unless you are South African.
She was born at the Rectory in St Ive; her father the local rector in the Church and both him and the mother from gentry. On the site now is a fully restored house dating back to the 1870s which chronicles Emily Hobhouse’ early life. It is faithfully restored and provides an informative look at life living in that period, but it is just an amuse bouche for the impressive Zinc clad structure that contains the War Rooms.
The war rooms chronicle the 1st and Second Boer Wars in the late 19th and very early 20th Century. The Boers it turns out were the prototype for the modern day South African rugby team. The British - at the height of their reign of the biggest Empire ever - are given a master class by the Boers. Over the course of both Wars the British are schooled on modern warfare and receive bloody noses at famous sites such as Ladysmith, Mafeking and Spion Kop. Soldiers succumb to withering fire from concealed positions and both horses and men die in their thousands - as much from disease as from gunshots - as they relentlessly pursue the elusive Boers.
Cue a slew of nasty British Generals; chief of whom was Lord Kitchener who decides that the only answer is a policy of scorched earth and concentration camps for Boer women and children as well as their black servants and staff. And this is where Emily Hobhouse comes in to her own. I am not going to say much more because it is told so much more powerfully by visiting The Story of Emily.
Prepare to be swept away by incredible restoration architecture which tees you up nicely for the depictions in the War Rooms. I was totally unprepared for the crescendo of emotion which like a dam bursts several hours into the visit and leaves you drained but also enlightened in equal measure.
You will need to book in advance and should include a break for a drink and thereafter a South African themed meal in the excellent on site restaurant. Don’t imagine that you will be able to whizz in and out - like I did successfully negotiating the Cairo Museum in 7 minutes. There are lovely gardens and some cute goats and horses if you have children in tow. I don’t know how one goes about explaining to children how beastly the Brits were in this period and how we were the earliest proponents of concentration camps but it is amazing history that I fear is not much talked about. Dwelling on the nasty aspects of the British is not really the issue; more is the fact that it was a British woman who had the courage and determination to travel alone n difficult and dangerous conditions and showcase the atrocities and more importantly to provide the impetus and the will to restore dignity and economic prosperity to those harmed and vilified by her own race.
A brilliant visit.
