Cathedral of St Michael and St George, Grahamstown
Item set
- Alternative Title
- Grahamstown Cathedral Historical Image Collection
- Description
- The Cathedral of St Michael and St George, Grahamstown collection is a digitised archival set from the Cory Library and Historical Archives at Rhodes University documenting important visual records of the Cathedral of St Michael and St George in Grahamstown (Makhanda), Eastern Cape, South Africa. This collection, housed within the Cory Churches Collections, comprises 11 historical images—including aerial views of Grahamstown with the cathedral, architectural details of the cathedral’s chancel, and views of High Street and Church Square with the cathedral as focal point. Several photographs capture significant moments in the cathedral’s development, such as the laying of the foundation stone of the chancel by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Henry Loch, in 1890, as well as earlier views of the surrounding urban context. The items reflect the cathedral’s religious, architectural, and civic significance in the colonial and early modern history of Grahamstown, and support research into church history, built heritage, urban development, and social life in the Eastern Cape.
- Language
- English
- Type
- Collection
- Subject
- Cathedral of St Michael and St George, Grahamstown (South Africa)
- Sir Henry Loch
- Colonial South Africa
- Church architecture
- Anglican church buildings
- Eastern Cape -- History
- Grahamstown (Makhanda), Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Spatial Coverage
- Grahamstown (Makhanda), Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Temporal Coverage
- Primarily late 19th to early 20th century
- Format
- Digital images
Items
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Aerial view of Grahamstown. -
Cathedral chancel, Grahamstown -
A sepia-toned postcard or print depicting Church Square in Grahamstown. The scene shows the Anglican Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George in the center and the City Hall clock tower on the right. The foreground captures a transition in transport, featuring both motorised vehicles parked in a row and a traditional donkey or ox-drawn wagon in the lower right. The "Bon Marche" building is visible on the far left. -
Added to the lantern slide collection by Dr Charles GE Cory, son of Sir George Cory. -
Ox wagons and oxen teams in the foreground. -
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Two photographs stuck on card, of: (a) View of High Street, Grahamstown, showing the Cathedral of St Michael and St George with the spire, completed in 1878. The Settlers Memorial Tower, completed in 1870, can be seen to the left. (b) View of the intersection of Worcester and Somerset Streets, Grahamstown, with a Victorian fluted pillar box ca. 1859-60 in the foreground, reputed to be the oldest official letter box in South Africa. The house of the Headmaster of St Andrew's College is visible behind it, with Christchurch, built in 1876, in the distance. The latter photograph was taken by Aldham and Aldham, photographers active in Grahamstown from1879-1905. -
View of an almost deserted High Street, looking eastwards towards the Cathedral of St Michael and St George. The photograph is mounted on card which bears the inscription 'The Cathedral High Street Grahamstown'. It predates the building of the Cathedral spire, completed in 1878. -
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The foundation stone for the chancel was laid by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Henry Loch, on 29 January 1890, and the completed structure was consecrated in 1893. (The photographer for this image was Hepburn.) -
Laying of the foundation stone of the chancel of Cathedral of St Michael and St George, Grahamstown.View from south side of Church Square of the laying of the foundation stone of the chancel of the Cathedral of St Michael and St George by the Governor, Sir Henry Loch, on 29 January 1890. A photographer from Barraud Brothers is visible in the background. -
A note on the verso reads ' The laying of the foundation stone of the chancel of the Cathedral of St Michael and St George, Grahamstown, by His Excellency, Sir Henry Loch, GCMG KCB, Wednesday, 29th January 1890'. It shows a view from the north side of Church Square. -
View from the north side of Church Square showing the laying of the foundation stone of the chancel of the Cathedral of St Michael and St George by the Governor, Sir Henry Loch, on 29 January 1890. The camera of F. W. Hepburn is visible in the upper left window of 'T.H. Parker', a stone building in the background.,Donated by Martin Plaut, 2015 -
Cathedral in High Street, Grahamstown.,Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd. (donor) -
Facebook post (dated 22 February 2021) by Gareth Angelbeck: "A reproduction of a pen-and-ink sketch by W. Guybon Atherstone from the steps of the Drostdy looking down High Street, dated 3 May 1830. The three-storied building at the corner of High Street (now Major Frasiers) is known to have been built by Pieter Retief. All subsequent illustrations show it with two stories only, and the alteration must have taken place several decades before the advent of photography. The sketch also shows an open water furrow, leading from the bottom right corner to the top of High Street. This was the public water supply of the town in 1830, which was led to open tanks at various points in the town. Colonel Graham's mimosa tree is shown, in the middle of High Street, a short distance from St. George's Church (later, the Cathedral). This tree, marking the traditional spot where the decision to found Grahamstown was made on 14 August 1812, was destroyed in a gale in 1844. (Ref- Grahamstown in Early Photographs, F van der Riet, David Philip pub, CT, 1974)."