Port Elizabeth of Yore: The multi-racial Union Chapel and School

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 Comments

The Congregational Union Chapel in Chapel Street was never one of the foremost churches in Port Elizabeth but in two ways it was unique in that it held mixed services with khoikhoi and whites as well as mixed schooling. It might not have been a prominent church but it went into use in May 1828 which was four years ahead of St. Mary’s making it de facto the first completed church building in Port Elizabeth.

Main picture: Chapel Street. Union Chapel was enlarged in 1882 to plans by John Thornhill Cook & was demolished in 1964.

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Description of the Town in 1861

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

This blog is a verbatim copy of an article of unknown origin or authorship. That begs the question of who indeed wrote it. As a best guess it was Tennyson Bodill as it came from his files.   

Notwithstanding vigorous growth during its first forty years, Port Elizabeth was still a dinky-sized town in 1861. From a scruffiness in its early years, which was unbecoming, it was the debut of the Town Hall which ushered in a whole array of elegant buildings such as the original Standard Bank building. What the town lacked then, and the city does now, was greenery. This paucity of vegetation has deprived its inhabitants of its aesthetic beauty, which would have enhanced the attractiveness of the town.

Main picture: The original St Mary’s Church before it was burnt down in 1895. Never an object of beauty, it was a plain unadorned box of a building.

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Donkin Row-Tiptoeing up the Hill

By Dean McCleland in Opinion Pieces, Port Elizabeth of Yore 3 Comments

The houses in Donkin Street add to the charm of the area bracketed by the Hill Presbyterian church at the top and Nedbank building in Main Street and bounded by the Donkin Reserve in the east.  Possibly more important was the fact that the Donkin Stream from a perennial spring supplied the town with water

Main picture: Painting of Donkin Row, as it is called

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Magnificent Gothic Hill Presbyterian Church

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Initially the Presbyterians in Port Elizabeth could not afford their own church so they supported the “New Church,” an Independent Church, from 1853. This church was located at the corner of Main and Donkin Streets. Finally, in 1861 they were able to support their own church. 

Accordingly, they built a magnificent Gothic Revival style church in a prominent position on the hill which is visible from Algoa Bay. 

Main picture: View of the Hill Presbyterian Church from Donkin Reserve

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: “New Church” in Main Street

By Dean McCleland in Opinion Pieces 2 Comments

One of the little known facts about Port Elizabeth of Yore is that there was another church in Main Street apart from St. Mary’s. It was known by the highly imaginative name of The New Church. It stood in Main Street between Donkin Street and Constitutional Hill, which extended down to Main Street in those days. This church was initially an independent church built by the members of Union Chapel. 

Main picture:  New Church is on the right looking towards the market square. One is unable to view the Town Hall at the end of Main Street, as it did not yet exist. 

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