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Lexicon Kapsteilhuis _____________________________________________________ Also Kapstylhuis, Kapstijl house, Kapstyl house Is a dwelling which today is usually described as an A-framed house. It has a paired couple frame which is thatched with reeds and thatching grass. The feet of the couples often stand on low side walls to prevent them from decaying as they do when embedded in the ground. The entrance is in one end and it is illuminated by two small windows; one in the end opposite the entrance and one in the side. (Walton, 1995: 125) Kapstyl is a C20 neologism borrowed, possibly, from the German 'kapstil' to describe the A-frame structure. The problem is therefore that no term existed in C19 to describe these structures other than the contemporary hartbeest house and the fact that there are no illustrations of these while those of the kapstyl proliferate. An old Pochefstroomer remembers these houses being called 'tent' house1 thus further clouding the issue. Walton2 would have the walled and roofed variety distinguished from the roof alone variety since he sees the former as having European precedent in the longhouse, while the latter he sees as being a derivative of the dwellings of the Khoekhoen, much like the hartbeeshuis. As generally described the kapstyl is a thatched shelter carried by eight trusses which, in the simplest form as found in Natal and the Cape, rest directly on the ground. A floor area of approximately 7,6 x 5,0 m is covered by trusses with intermediary tie-beams (hanebalke). To this are attached laths and the entire structure thatched. Low walls may be found inside where roof meets ground. The thatched ends are sometimes rounded into a semi-conical form, with a door in the one and sometimes windows in the other. Sometimes the A-frame is raised on a stub perimeter wall with gabled ends for a door and a window opposite. In its advanced form a komyntjie (hearth) might be added to the farther end. Books linked to this entry Fisher, RC, Le Roux, SW & Maré, E (Eds). 1998. Architecture of the Transvaal. Pretoria: UNISA pp 41-42 Frescura, Franco & Myeza, Joyce . 2017. Illustrated glossary of southern African architectural terms; English-isiZulu. Pietermaritzburg: UKZN Press pp 97+99, 100 ill Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1970. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 1 Aan-Bac. Cape Town: Nasou pp 542 ill, 543 +ill Walton, James. 1965. Homesteads and villages of South Africa. Pretoria: J.L. Van Schaik pp 94 ill, 95 Walton, James. 1955. Vroeë plase en nedersettings in die Oranje-Vrystaat. Kaapstad: A.A. Balkema pp 7-13, 9 ill, 29-30 ills