Two of the most typical things that you would associate small towns in the platteland (countryside) with are churches and windpompe (windpumps). They are to small towns as Aston Martins and girls are to James Bond. In this scene in Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo I got them both in one shot. James Bond driving with the top down and a beautiful girl next to him.
The Commemorative Methodist Church, or as the locals call it The Commem, stands at the bottom of church square in the beautiful Eastern Cape town of Grahamstown. The church was completed in 1850 and was built along the Gothic Revival lines which was very "in" at that stage. In front of the church stands the statue of the Winged Angel of Peace supporting a dying soldier,which commemorates those who have fallen in the Anglo Boer War (1899 - 1902). This…
Today I am combining my Skywatch post with a Random theme... post. The random theme for today is weather vanes. There is a folk song in Afrikaans about the chicken that can't lay an egg and that chicken is the one that stands on top of the church spire. This weather vane I found standing on top of the church in Prince Albert in the Karoo The cock on top of the NG Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) in the Langkloof…
In July 1829, Dr. William Gill was appointed District Surgeon of the newly founded town and district of Somerset. Upon his death in 1863, he left the main portion of his estate to found and maintain an institution for higher education in the Eastern Cape. His will stipulated that no portion of the estate was to be spend on the purchase or erection of buildings. Consequently, Somerset farmers and townsfolk pledged that they would erect the necessary buildings. Gill College…
Looking in the gate at the old church in Middleton. I didn't want to post this pic along with the original post as I thought it could stand nicely on its own.
On our recent visit to Somerset East we stopped at Middleton between Port Elizabeth and Cradock. While the Damselfly and Rugrats were browsing through the farm stall, I had a closer look of the historic Methodist church that stands at the entrance to the village. The guy working in the shop asked me if I would like to see the inside of the church and unlocked it for me. The church, built in 1903, is what you would call quaint.…
One of the main landmarks in Somerset East in the Karoo is the Dutch Reformed Church (NG Kerk) in the main street (Nojoli Street). The proposal of the local Heemraden to erect a Dutch Reformed Church in 1825, was accompanied by the submission of a design in which Cape Dutch and Gothic architecture were cheerfully blended. The Eastern facade had a Dutch Renaissance tower rising from an impressive thatched nave. The foundation stone was laid in 1830, but the building…
Today is another Random ... theme day and the theme is Random Country Churches. Some of the smallest towns in the middle of nowhere will have magnificent old Dutch Reformed Churches dating back from the early days. In most cases these churches were built in the late 1800's and early 1900's not to only service the town, but also the surrounding farming community. This means that some of these small towns today have huge churches. The Dutch Reformed Church in…
After driving through the Swartberg Pass (from here to here), we entered the village of Prince Albert. The first farmers in this area started farming in this fertile valley from 1762. The area soon attracted other farmers and church services were held on the market square and by 1844 an Dutch Reformed Church had been built and a thriving community established. In 1845 some parishioners suggested that the village be named Albertsburg after "Naar zijne Hoogheid" - his Royal Highness,…