The house was built in 1895 for Hennen Jennings, a mining engineer. In March 1901 it became the official residence of Sir Alfred (later Lord) Milner, British High Commissioner, and the man generally blamed for the outbreak of the war. As Governor of the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies, Milner introduced civil administration more than a year before the war ended and was responsible for the post-war reconstruction. He left South Africa in 1905.