Ornate arch of the entrance to the Royal Hotel
Kokstad was named after the Griqua Chief Adam Kok III who had trekked over the berg from west Griqualand.
The Royal Hotel was built in 1881 by an African American, an illicit diamond dealer, called ‘Yankee Wood’. All that remains of this hotel is the ornate arch-way which would have been built by the Colonial settlers. The motto ‘Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense” and ‘Dieu Et Mon Droit’, form part of the crest.
The site of the former hotel is now a regional shopping centre.