Contact Artefacts
please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.
Menu
HomeUpfront
Now Up
Books
Towns
Structures
People
Firms
Lexicon
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk - Moederkerk
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
 |  |  |  |  |
Contact Artefacts | MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk - Moederkerk | | ||||||
| |||||||||
Click to view large map Coordinates: | When, in 1814, the Stellenbosch congregation quickly outgrew its original thatched cruciform church, all four wings were extended by 5,30 m. The builder was Douw Gerbrand Steyn of Cloetesburg, Somerset West. The front-gable was replaced by a pedimented one with straight sloping sides, very similar to the 1823 gable of the Rhenish Mission Church. In 1861/63 the church, which once more had become too small for Stellenbosch, was further enlarged by the church builder Carl Otto HAGER, who was also responsible for the Lutheran Church. HAGER left the back wing as it was, but he heightened the side ones; the front was not only heightened, but also lengthened and widened, by the addition of two aisles. It is interesting to note that this plan had already been suggested by Josias Hoffman (father of the President of the Orange Free State Republic) in 1813. Hager also added the tower. The gables were given pinnacles and the corners buttresses; thus, despite its plaster finish, a strongly Gothic Revival look was achieved. While this style was considered de rigueur for English denominations, was as yet rare in DR churches. It is a most handsome building, and makes an impressive termination to Church Street. It also made HAGER's name as an ecclesiastical architect. The present pulpit, dating from 1863, was probably designed by HAGER. It has a tall curved Gothic Revival 'tower' and is the fourth in the church's history. The former pulpit was donated to the nearby Rhenish Mission Church (Extracted and edited from Fransen 2004:171). Initially the church had three GRUHL bells, dating as far back as 1864. However, in 1986 these bells were replaced by a new set of bells and two of the three original Gruhl bells are now hanging in a bell tower on a farm in Riviersonderend. The fate of the third of these bells is unknown. (See de Wet, Teugels and Deventer 2014 'Historic bells in Moravian Missions in South Africa's Western Cape' Historia accessed 2026 04 16 15:00 UTC +2). Moederkerk References:
|
|
