Melrose House was designed for Mr. George Heyes by a British architect, W T Vale. The house was in the possession of the family until 1968, when it was purchased by the City Council of Pretoria for use as a museum. The structure of the house remained unchanged through the years and most of the furniture and decorative objects that belonged to the family were bought with the house. Between 1990 and 1992 major restoration work was done on the house and furnishings, showing Melrose House today as it must have looked in the period 1895-1905.