Old Presidency, Presidential residence in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

The Old Presidency is a museum, art gallery and theatre on President Brand Street in Bloemfontein. The building was completed in 1886 to a design by the English architects Lennox Canning and F. Goad, who won an international competition in 1884. It was built on the foundations of the earlier clay house, and Sir Herbert Baker later added stables at the back.

A trekboer family named Brits built a thatched A-frame dwelling on the site in the 1820s; Major Henry Douglas Warden bought it in 1846 and replaced it with a sun-dried brick farmhouse. After Britain abandoned the Orange River Sovereignty in 1854, presidents Hoffman, Boshoff and Pretorius lived there. The Volksraad approved a new residence in 1860 but could only fund £800 of repairs. Construction of the present building began on 22 May 1885 on the old foundations and was completed in 1886; President Brand died there in 1888, and Reitz and Steyn followed him until British troops occupied Bloemfontein on 13 March 1900.

The building is now a museum, art gallery and theatre run from the former presidential residence; its displays centre on the lives and terms of the three Orange Free State heads of state, Brand, Reitz and Steyn. The gardens outside are often used for photography, and the site also hosts art exhibitions, musical events and theatrical productions.

You can visit the building through guided tours to learn more about its role in South African history. Plan enough time to explore the rooms at a comfortable pace and view the displays.

The stables added at the back by architect Sir Herbert Baker are said to be haunted: visitors and staff have reported hearing carriages rolling in and a dog barking at night. Stories also tell of children seen inside, a memory of the years when the house served as a school annexe and student hostel.