The destruction of the St. Mary’s Church was devastating for the community in Port Elizabeth. Not only was it the first church to be erected in the town but it was also the focal point of many activities in the town as well as being the mother church for all the sibling Anglican churches.

If there was any beneficial effect of its destruction is that it afforded the congregants an opportunity to transform a non-ecclesiastical oblong building devoid of architectural merit into a building befitting its status and not just a building fit for purpose.

Main picture: St Mary’s church the morning after the fire

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