NG Church History Exhibition

Villagers and visitors will agree that the Dutch Reformed Church grounds are looking resplendent again after the completion of a round of significant restoration work that started in late 2022. What is not obvious – and new – is an exhibition about the history of the church – the oldest remaining building in the village. The Tatler chatted with Ingrid Maritz who researched the exhibition.

The exhibition is installed in the south wing of the church where four pews were removed to make space for it. Wood from the 100-year-old imported English oak pews was used to craft two custommade tables on which some artefacts are displayed, including the church’s original communion cups and two antique bibles.

Ingrid, who worked with well-known cultural historian Prof Matilda Burden on the exhibition, says that if anything struck her during the process it was how the congregation was constantly making improvements to the original building, from converting the original rectangular building to a cruciform one to installing the pews and upgrading the organ. Also notable was the support received from other congregations as far afield as Calvinia and Port Elizabeth for some of these improvements.

Text panels on the walls provide a short history of the French Huguenots, the founding of the village’s own Dutch Reformed congregation and the stages of structural changes to the church building itself. Several old photographs show the church through the years and highlight features such as the bell tower and the first ring wall with the chain that was used to tie up the horses. A rare and charming aerial photo of the church in the 1950s not only shows some classic cars in the street but also the old chapel that once stood where the church hall is today and the outhouse in the parking area!

Ingrid has met many visitors while working on the exhibition and says some visitors are just looking for a quiet moment away from the bustle in Huguenot St, while others are deeply interested in the history, culture and worship habits of the local population. What they almost all share though is a hankering for a spiritual connection of some kind.

The church is open to visitors daily from 10h00 – 15h00. On Sundays, the church opens a bit