Beaufort West: Stone Churches

During our walk in Beaufort West we was some beautiful churches.  Christ Church (the Anglican Church on the corner of Donkin and Hill Street) was one of our main reasons for visiting the town. We were very surprised to find another beautiful stone church close to Christ Church on the corner of Donkin and Devenish Street. 














The small School Chapel or Christ Church Lodge was built in 1849.  According to Desmond Martin in his book “The Bishop’s Churches” there is good reasons to believe that the chapel was built from a design by Sophy Gray.  Bishop Gray visited the town in November 1848 and a minister was appointed.  The Bishop’s journal does not mention the chapel but the design is similar to the Newlands Chapel and other Sophy Gray Churches. 
Christ Church was designed by Sophy Gray and was completed in 1854. It was consecrated by Bishop Gray on 21 October 1855.  The church was later altered: the main entrance was moved from the side to the Donkin Street side and a chancel was added.














The church was surrounded with a fence and all the gates were locked.  During the three days we spend in Beaufort West we tried to few times to get a closer look.  We also tried to phone the church without success. 














We planned to attend a church service at the Dutch Reformed Church on Sunday but changed the plan.  We waited in the car for about 30 minutes outside the Christ Church.  But nobody came and the gate and church stayed close. We will try again on another visit.

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