Roodezand - Tulbagh

Denomination: Dutch Reformed (NG)

Built: 1743-1748

Status: Extant

Current Use: Oude Kerk Volksmuseum

View from north-east (2013). Source: Coral Grobler on Wikimedia Commons.

View from north. Unidentified photographer.

North gable (2009). Source: Norman Collins on Wikimedia Commons.

From Red Sands to "Land van Waveren"

The region situated north of the Drakenstein Mountains, bounded by the Ubiqua Mountains to the west and the Witzenberg to the east, was originally known as Roodezand (Dutch for "red sand") - where the roads from the Olifants valley, the Bokkeveld, the Roggeveld, and the Breede valley met.²

In 1699, Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel, who was called "the father of the stock farmer", was looking for a hinterland where cattle posts could be established. Already the Stellenbosch and Drakenstein people were complaining that their farms were too small, and there were other landless men clamouring for grants. Van der Stel crossed into the valley by the pass and saw the possibilities immediately. He called the new settlement "Het Land van Waveren" to honour his maternal ancestors, the Oetgens van Waveren family. He named a mountain Witzenberg in honour of Nicolaas Witzen, burgomaster of Amsterdam.⁷

• Willem Adriaan van der Stel (1664 Netherlands - 1733 Netherlands [69]) was Governor of the Cape Colony from 1699-1707.

It wasn't until 1804, after being proclaimed a drostdy, that the town was renamed Tulbagh in honour of Governor Rijk Tulbagh, though the name Roodezand remained in use both before and after the official change.³

The Birth of the Roodezand Church

Before 1743, the only churches in the Colony were far away in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, and Drakenstein. Baron Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff authorised a church and parsonage for the valley. It was established as a Dutch Reformed Church to serve the white settler families in the Land van Waveren who previously had to travel to Paarl for services. No longer was there the danger of verwildering of remote settlers. A kerkraad was appointed, with Jacobus and Pieter Theron acting as deacons.⁷

Baron Gustaaf / Gustaf Willem van Imhoff (1705 - 1750 [45]) was a Dutch colonial administrator for the VOC.

"Generations of Bokkeveld farmers rode over the Mostert's Hoek road. You can drive from Ceres to Cape Town easily in three hours today (1957); but those farmers were four days on the journey. When they went to the Roodezand church the father rode ahead in his Sunday clothes. Then came his wife and the servants. Often they dismounted, leading the horses and carrying their babies over the dangerous places. When they travelled by wagon, the ordeal of the Mostert's Hoek track lasted a week. Yet they used it. Soap and butter, products for which the early Warm Bokkeveld farmers were renowned, came over the mountains and reached the Cape Town market at last."⁷

The first minister was Ds. Arnoldus Mauritius Meiring who was recruited from a ship bound for the East Indies to serve the new congregation.⁷

• Arnoldus Mauritius Meiring (1695 Germany - 1757 Tulbagh [62]) was a VOC minister, and progenitor of the Meiring family in SA. He was buried in front of the pulpit at Roodezand.

For half a century, the village of Roodezandskerk consisted of this church, the pastorie, the dwellings of the sick-comforter and the sexton. There was also a military post house, which Pieter de Vos bought for four thousand gulden (with sixty morgen) when the garrison departed. To grow the town, Ds. M.C. Vos later subdivided church property into building plots. Although the governor initially sent a stern letter ordering him to stop, he eventually withdrew his opposition after Vos explained his reasoning. On 15 August 1795, the Church Council was also granted an additional strip of land; they had requested this specific parallel section because it was better suited for construction, allowing them to preserve the more fertile soil nearby.⁷

Architecture

"Tulbagh Church is interesting within its encircling wall, standing forlornly enough when I saw it (1903), with windows broken and out of repair, whilst opposite a spick-and-span edifice stared triumphantly at the disarray of its predecessor. Its real beauty lies in the curved lines of the gateway, set against the wild loneliness of mountain and open country. John Barrow, in 1806, practical and commonplace, calls it a "small neat church and parsonage" (the latter has very graceful gables) and says that near the church was a "row of houses,"the number of which had "lately been increased." The elders of the old church were Jacobus du Pre, Gerrit van der Merwe and Jacobus Theron."¹

• Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, FRS, FRGS, FSA (1764 - 1848 [84]) was an English geographer, linguist, writer and civil servant. During his travels through South Africa, Barrow compiled copious notes and sketches of the countryside. His descriptions of South Africa greatly influenced Europeans' understanding of South Africa and its peoples.¹³

The church is the oldest church building still standing in South Africa, and likely the oldest Protestant church in the Southern Hemisphere. It was commissioned during the ministry of Rev. Meiring.

It follows a Greek cross pattern - "a strong contrast with the austere Calvinistic "meeting house" plan in vogue at that time." It’s possible the architect was influenced by Portuguese churches in Eastern colonies.⁷

During the tenure of Rev. Harders (1758-1774), it was decided to remove and renew the church's roof.¹ While it originally had hipped roofs on all sides, a late-Baroque gable (dated 1795) was added to the front wing during a renovation that elongated the building. Hendrik Veersen donated the church bell. During the same time the church decided to add two galleries.¹¹

• Remmerus Harders (c.1734 Germany - c.1811 Cape) arrived at the Cape in 1758⁹. He retired in 1779⁹.

It was initially built as a cruciform thatched building - likely not a perfect Greek cross - with a longitudinal axis of about 18.40m, a transverse axis of about 16.90m, and wing widths of approximately 7.70m. In Gordon’s 1785 panorama, the church is shown with a hipped roof on all four sides. In 1795, it was enlarged by adding about 4 metres to both ends of the longitudinal axis, extending it to nearly 27m and creating a distinctly elongated cross. It was also during this renovation that the (extended) front wing received its late-Baroque gable over the entrance, while the other three wings retained their hipped ends. The former end wall of the rear wing was left standing so that the rear addition could be used as a vestry. Balconies were added to the two short transverse wings to provide more seating. The pulpit, which likely also dates from the time of these renovations, was placed on the axis at the top of the T-shaped space formed by the front and transverse wings. (Detailed description by Hans Fransen)⁵

In 1934, the church narrowly escaped the fire that started at the Drostdy.

Pastorie

The Pastorie. Old postcard.

While the initial parsonage was likely a makeshift cottage that quickly fell into ruin, it was replaced in 1769 by a grander structure that remains the oldest parsonage in South Africa today. Careful restoration has stripped away modern eyesores - like the striped iron stoep roof - to reveal its original character: five elegant gables, yellowwood and kiaat doors, and classic sash windows with panelled shutters. The home is a showcase of colonial craftsmanship, featuring hundreds of authentic Batavian floor tiles. The old minister's wine cellar still stands, a reminder of the era when parsonages functioned as working farms, though it later served the community as a schoolhouse.⁷

Missionary activities

The congregation eventually engaged in missionary activities - most notably under Rev. M.C. Vos in 1794.

"Every year, the number of missionaries who came over increased. Some of them, chiefly the English ones, did, indeed, go among the savages; but the greater part remained in the country, about Roodezand, living a fortnight with one colonist, a month with another, regularly receiving the salary, towards which many a penitent sinner in Europe had contributed his ducats, under the pious idea of assisting in leading heathens from the paths of error to those of truth. None of these holy messengers ever thought of crossing the Karroo, to instruct the distant and poorer colonists of those parts who live at many days' journey from the nearest church, and to whom their visits might have proved a real substantial service."⁶

Legacy and the Oude Kerk Volksmuseum

Though a new church was eventually built nearby, the old building was saved from ruin. Thanks to the efforts of Sir Meiring Beck and Lady Beck (descendants of the first minister), it was restored and turned into the Oude Kerk Volksmuseum. Today, it houses a valuable collection of antiques and documents, and it is particularly famous for its extensive collection of historical chairs.⁸

Sir Johannes Hendricus Meiring Beck (1855 Worcester - 1919 Cape Town [64]) was a South African physician and politician. He married Emily Mary Kuys (Bredasdorp 1862 - Tulbagh 1935 [73]) in 1885. He retired from his medical practice in 1903 and moved to Tulbagh. Beck was knighted in 1911. Image sources: Geni.¹²

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Locality map

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Sources

1. Pragtige nuwe kerk by lugpoort tot ons land. Die Hervormer, December 1953.
2. Walker, E.A. (1922) Historical Atlas of South Africa.
3. Raper, P.E. (1987) Dictionary of Southern African Place Names.
4. Du Plessis, J. (1911) A History of Christian Missions in South Africa.
5. Fransen, H. (1989) Die Kaapse 'preekkerk' en sy oorsprong. S.-Afr.Tydskr.Kult.-Kunsgesk. 1989,3(4)
6. Lichtenstein, H. (1815) Travels in southern Africa in the years 1803, 1804, 1805 and 1806.
7. Green, L.G. (1957) Beyond the City Lights.
8. Vlok, N. (1979) A visit to Tulbagh. Restorica No. 6, 1979.
9. Theal, G.M. (1922) History and Ethnography of Africa south of the Zambezi, Vol. III.
10. Trotter, A.F. (1903) Old Cape Colony.
11. Boeseken, A. et al. (1989) The Secluded Valley.
12. Emily Mary (Kuys) Meiring Beck
13. Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet