First settled in 1685 by Martin Pouisson, a French Hugenot refugee from religious persecution, the title deeds were granted in 1707. Pouisson named the farm “Slent”. The meaning of the name is unknown, but we think that it is possibly an old form of “slant” or “aslant” , as the farm lies on the lower slopes of Perdeberg Mountain (Horse mountain, so named for the large herds of zebra that once roamed its hillsides and valleys).
Once a much larger property, subdivisions for younger sons or daughters’ dowries have reduced the farm’s size to 170 hectares (420 acres). “The soul of South Africa lies there”, wrote Sailor Malan, famous WW2 Battle of Britain RAF fighter “ace”, who lived on Slent for 9 years as a child. The farm lies on the gentle southern slopes of the mountain, with panoramic views across 50km of valley to Lion’s Head, Signal Hill and Table Mountain (recently voted one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World”) to the west. The southern aspect on a clear day includes the whole Peninsula chain to Cape Point, across False Bay to Rooi Els andthe Hottentots’ Holland mountains, Johnkershoek, Franschhoek, Groot Drakenstein and Simonsberg mountains; to the east the Klein Drakenstein, Wemmershoek and Hawequa ranges. The views are unsurpassed and always beautiful