Eccentric Settlers in Nyandarua
Buxton House: An Epilogue of Happy Valley
Buxton House is, perhaps, the best example of Nyandarua County’s priceless White Mischief mansions unfortunately left to die. A poignant reminder of fast-disappearing history of the Wanjohi Valley. Time, neglect and vandalism have gotten the best of this mega mansion located just 15 km west of Ol Kalou town. The famed book and movie “White Mischief” that told the story of Lord Errol’s death also made popular the Happy Valley, its lifestyles, and fine palatial houses. Decades on, time and tide has not waited on many of these houses. The area is strewn with many greying relics from the era, although most are in derelict state.
Geoffrey Buxton, the grandson of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, British MP, would be the first farmer to settle in the Wanjohi Valley, completing Buxton House in 1908. Double storey high, it still stands today but is desperately in need of repair for its idiosyncratic beauty and place. Geoffrey Buxton introduced a never-seen-before sturdy architecture to Wanjohi Valley. On approach, the driveway curves before straightening out to the imposing-edifice christened the Buxton House, peering up at the wall of the Aberdare Range headstrong in the background. The widest part of the house, topped with four tall chimneys, is lined across its face with broad glassed-in frames, awning verandas and a great front space. Although not where it once was, Buxton must have been a sight to behold in its heyday in the 1940s.
Before settling in Wanjohi Valley, later monikered as the Happy Valley, Geoffrey Buxton, a determined farmer, had moved up from the dryer Rift Valley with its meagre rivers and a relentless dusty wind that earned Gilgil its name. And so, after finding his ideal farming country, he called this new haven Happy Valley. The area was indeed a beautiful one, lying on the Kinangop Plain which is contiguous with Ol Bolossat Plain at the foot of Satima Peak near Ol Kalou and Ol Joro Orok towns. About 10 km north of Miharati and Mount Kipipiri lies the much-talked about but untravelled Wanjohi Valley, a location of almost mythical status famously known for its legacy of decadent lifestyle and exploits of the settler-farmers in the 1940s.
1900 marked the arrival and influence of various settlers, notably of the British and Indians, attracted by fertile agricultural lands and untapped market for trade. These settlers and individuals, some famous as local eccentrics, left lasting legacies in Kenya’s history, contributing to its cultural, economic, and political development. The legacies of the eccentrics are still much-talked about today.
Index of Eccentric Settlers in Kenya
Kiambu County - William Northrup McMillan, Kilifi County - Johann Ludwig Krapf, Mombasa County - Allidina Visram, Makueni County - Peter Cameron Scott, Machakos County - Frank O'Brien Wilson, Meru County - Edward B. Horne, Muranga County - John Bayes, Nakuru County - Lord Maurice Egerton, Lord Delamere, Diana Delamere, Alan Root, Galbraith Lowry Egerton Cole, Lady Eleanor Balfour, Nairobi County - Karen Blixen, Lord Erroll, Alice de Janzé, Derek Erskine, Nyandarua County - Geoffrey Buxton, John W. Etherington, Robert F. Carnegie, Nyeri County - Major Eric Sherbrooke Walker, Robert Baden-Powell, William Holden, Samburu County - Rhodia Mann, Taita Taveta County - Ewart Grogan, Denys Finch Hatton, Tana River County - George G. Adamson
Greatly positioned as an agrarian hub, with increased investment in infrastructure, Nyandarua County is also famous for its scenic landscapes and montane climate. Named after the Aberdare Ranges, with an extensive presence, Nyandarua grew as an agribusiness locale but is well making a name for itself as an alpine escape.
You Are Here: Buxton House, Ol Kalou
Where to Next?
Explore Destinations Nearby Buxton House, Ol Kalou
A Guide to Nyandarua County
A Summa Digest of Nyandarua
About Nyandarua Way Back When
45 Destinations in Nyandarua County, arranged as one would visit these - south, north then west - with aid of in-depth narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
Matches Dam, Gitwe Viewpoint, Mawingu Camp Kenya, Heni Viewpoint, Kijabe Hills, Kinangop Step, Ragia Forest Trail, Sasumua Dam, Sharpe's Longclaw Nature Reserve, Elmer Resort & Spa, Cheese House, Njabini, Elephant Hill, Aberdare Range, Kinangop Plateau, Mount Kipipiri, Mount Kipipiri Golf & Resort, Wanjohi Valley (Happy Valley), Davida Getaway, Wanjohi Falls, Kenungu Falls, Buxton House, Rurimeria Forest Trail, Mount Satima, Table Mountain, Dragon’s Teeth, Cedar Retreat (Log Cabin), Ndaragwa Falls, Ndaragwa Forest, Maverick Camp Rondavels & Farmstay, Malewa Bundu Camp, Plovers Eco Camp, Dundori Forest, Lake Ol Bolossat, Samawati Conservancy, Olrok Farm House, Laikipia Plateau, Tafaria Castle & Center for Arts, The Fairway Residence, Carnegie House (Ngobit Girls School), Knessiah Jewish Synagogue, Thompson Falls
Know More About Nyandarua County: Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including strip maps, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
Thanks to its high altitude, all of Nyandarua experiences pleasant to low temperatures. Highest temperatures are in the month of December that bears an average temperature of 25oC: Lowest in July, 14oC.
To the east, the Aberdare Range traverses its border with Nyeri County. End to end, the Aberdare Range, with vast presence in Nyandarua is a whooping great 565 km.