PE : Richmond Hill Trail (2)

Here are some more of the buildings we saw on the Richmond Hill Trail in Port Elizabeth on 27 April 2012.

Corner Shops
There use to be a lot of small shops in this area for the housewives who had to do shopping on foot.  Some still remain like C L Jones Grocer.
Masonic Lodge















This was the hall of the first Masonic Lodge of the Scottish Constitution in PE and the foundation stone was laid on 17 June 1899. 
Raleigh Street Synagogue
The Synagogue was built in 1912 for the Jewish Settlers from Eastern Europe and Russia.  Today it is a museum of Jewish history.
Dutch Reformed Church
The church was built in 1876 as the Edwards Memorial Church but was bought in 1921 by the Dutch Reformed Church.  The tower was added in 1948.
Russel Road Cemeteries
Three cemeteries were granted on this piece of land:
-         In 1838 to the Union Congregational Church;
-         In 1842 to the Methodist Church and
-         In 1843 to the Roman Catholic Church.
The cemeteries were closed in 1897 but after a lot of vandalism there is not much left.
James Langley Dalton
We did find one interesting grave.  It is the grave of James Langley Dalton who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in defense of Rorke’s Drift in January 1879 during the Zulu war.

Old Technical College
The former Technical College in now used by the Port Elizabeth College. It was built between 1926 and 1928.  I climbed up the stairs to see the detail on the walls but would not recommend it.  The steps are used as toilets and it is gross and smell even worse.
Women's Christian Temperance Union Children's Home
They like long names in PE.  This home was opened in 1899 and could accommodate 12 children.  It has beautiful timber verandas around 2 sides of the house.  It is now used as offices.

At the foot of the Hill in Albany Street there used to be a Church designed by Sophy Gray.  St Paul’s Anglican Church was built in 1854 but was demolished in 1959.  Some of the windows and memorial were moved to the new church in Tucker Street but we did not visit it.

This was the end of the walking trail.  We had a wonderful time in Richmond Hill and learned even more about the history of PE.  Next we went to get some food before going to explore another cemetery.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê

Image
   Weather vane on the VGK Church in Carnarvon    This photo made me think of a song we used to sing as kids.    It is a traditional Afrikaans song about the rooster on top of the church. The words of the song and its translation: Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower Dis die haan, Dis die haan It’s the rooster, It’s the rooster Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower More about all the churches and other buildings we saw in Carnarvon in the next post.
Read more

Dutch Reformed Mother Church, George

Image
One of my favourite sights in George is the white Dutch Reformed Mother Church with the beautiful Outeniqua Mountain as background.   I have many memories of visiting this church: On a history class trip when I was about 10, for a art class when I was about 13, for my cousins wedding in 2004, for her baby’s christening a few years later and many other times.   But most of all I like seeing this church every time we drive through town.   The cornerstone for the church was laid on 14 April 1832.   Slaves were used for some of the building work like the digging of the six-foot deep by five-foot wide foundations.   Due to financial problems it took 12 years to complete the church and it was consecrated in 9 October 1842.  The church is a National Heritage Site. On 13 September 1905 disaster struck when the church tower collapsed.   The wood rotted from water damage and lead to the walls weakening.   After a lot of rain for two days the tower collapsed.   The tower was reb
Read more

Eyewitness Travel Guides – A Book Review

Image
  Last month I wrote a book review and I enjoyed it.   Today I want to share some more of my favourite travel books.   DK Eyewitness Travel Guides I bought my first travel guide in 2008. I was planning a trip with my friend Lelanie to London and Europe.   While planning the trip I bought the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Europe and I paid R 282.00 for it.   Except for my university textbooks, this was the most expensive book I have ever bought for myself.    We were doing a Contiki Tour and visited 7 countries.   I studied the information in guide the about the cities we would visit.    I made lists of places I want to see and then looked for more information about them.   In the end I did not take the guide with me (the 800 pages was just to heavy to carry along) but packed all my lists to use.  At Departures at Cape Town Airport in 2008 My second guide was for the same trip.   The Eyewitness Travel Top 10 London traveled with us.   We stayed in London for 4 da
Read more