Not Gothic either but still trying hard to be different (and succeeding, I think.) The church is at the heart of the village because the land for the village was donated by the farmer who owned it, with the aim of building a church, a manse for the minister, a town square with drinking trough for oxen and horses, and ground for "nagmaalhuisies." Here I have to explain that "nagmaal" (communion) in this church is taken only every three months - and 110 years back this meant a trip of several hours, a camp-style stayover, buying everything you need for the next three months from the local traders, and then the trip back to your farm. Those farmers who wanted greater convenience would build a tiny cottage to serve for these quarterly trips and later to serve as retirement homes.
Interestingly, the villages in South Africa originated because of the need for either a post office or a church, to serve farmers, who were nearly always within a radius of a day's travel by wagon or carriage - 20 to 30 miles - and a roadmap of SA will show that most towns are as a result about 40 to 60 miles apart.
4 comments:
This is a very pretty building and your story about it was fascinating.
Hello Shelagh !
It is also a beautiful bilding...
And your story is pretty...
See You later...
The church is lovely and the sky gives a wonderful backdrop. Lovely pic.
Beautiful angle and great light for this photograph! The Church of course is stunning and makes a lasting impression to any visitor to Aurora. Your short story makeas a great reading as well! Cheers!
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