Grahamstown : Churches

Grahamstown is also known as the “City of Saints” with 52 Churches of numerous denominations in the town.  We already visited the Commemoration Church, the Cathedral of St Michael and St George , the Baptist Mother Church and St Bartholomew.

On the 1 May we went for a drive in the town looking for more churches.  Here are some of them:

St Philip’s Anglican Church
This isiXhosa-medium church was built in 1860 for the mostly refugee population.  In front of the church the burnt remains of St Phillips Hall, once a school building, can be seen.

Christ Church
Christ Church was built from a bequest from Rosa Wright and was opened for worship in 1867

Synagogue
A plaque on the outside of the synagogue gives the following information:

“The synagogue was consecrated on 19 Aug 1913 to serve the growing Jewish community of Grahamstown.

Jews first settled in Grahamstown with the arrival of the 1820 Settlers, worshipping in temporary sanctuaries for almost a century before their increasing numbers made possible the building of a permanent place of worship.”

St Patricks Catholic church
This church was built by troop of the 27th Inniskilling regiment and completed in June 1844.  Many Irish soldiers based on the frontier gave generously of their meager pay towards the cost.

St Aidens Chapel







Location: Grahamstown, South Africa

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