Tudor Palms was built in 1895 and has changed hands only four times - but there is a little more to it than that! In 1847 a London merchant, Jonas Bergtheil chartered a sailing ship, the Beta, for the purpose of bringing 35 German farmers and their families from Bremerhaven in Germany to "the land called Westville in the colony of Victoria". It was their intention to grow cotton , although the crop was a success, the project failed as there was no machinery available to clean the cotton. The land was sold by public auction in 1849 at an average price of 25 cents an acre. General farming began in the area which was named Westville in honour of Martin West the first Lieutenant-Governor of Natal. The small holding for Tudor Palms was purchased from a farmer who lived in the farm-house which was in fact the first house in Westville, and is the Bergtheil House Museum today. The plans for Tudor Palms were brought from England - it was to be an exact replica of their Tudor house there. The woodwork, stained glass windows and most of the building materials were brought by ship, from England. Tragedy struck however, during the voyage from England to South Africa, when the original owner's wife died. Stricken with grief, he sold the house to Methodist Missionaries, having never lived in it himself. Tudor Palms present owners bought the house in 1973 and have resided in the homestead for 29 years. The grandeur of this double storied character home, with its Tudor architecture, thick walls and splendid, solid, sweeping stair case has had an irresistible, alluring charm on all its occupants.