The original house was based on a design done by Herbert Baker in 1903 for Raymond William Schumacher (Ffennel), but was only built some years later. Schumacher was a Captain in the Rand Rifles, the corps raised in 1900 to guard the gold mines from attack by the Boers. During the war the British erected a blockhouse on this property overlooking what was then Old Pretoria Road. The historic building and land were donated to the Hope School by Schumacher.