Here stands St. Paul’s Church a testament to faith and history in Rondebosch. This Anglican church has a story etched in its very stones. The land beneath St. Paul’s was granted by Governor Sir Lowrie Cole. It happened on 30 August 1832.
Just six days later Bishop Daniel Wilson of Calcutta consecrated the ground. This marked the beginning of St. Paul’s as a place of worship. The area nearly one and a half hectares sits at the foot of Devil’s Peak. The original neo-Gothic structure of St. Paul’s opened on 16 February 1834. It was extended several times thereafter to accommodate the growing congregation. In October 1854 the original church was incorporated into a new building. Further additions occurred in 1857, 1858 and 1909.
Major Charles Cornwallis Michell Government Surveyor played a crucial role. He recommended this site for building St. Paul’s. Michell knew the local geology. He also designed the first church building. The clear-cut boundaries that define the ground today differ little from those of the original grant. They are straight at Church Street and curved at the Main Road. A lease was later negotiated with the City Council. This allowed them to encroach onto the church’s property to widen the Main Road.
Interestingly the site is at the North end of a rock-based terrace. It is raised a few meters above the Liesbeek River Valley. This foundation gives St. Paul’s its relative elevation. The ground was described as vacant. Tradition says that squatters occupied it. Prior to the grant of land a preacher described the site as a receptacle for the veriest outcasts. It was a scene where the wretched aboriginal steeped himself in all those vices. These he had learned from the ungodly stranger. It was a place loathsome to the eye and offensive to the ear. The building of St. Paul’s aimed to end the presence of vagrants and squatters on the site. Sadly vagrancy continues to despoil the grounds today.
Initially no drawing was known to exist of Michell’s church. That changed with the discovery in 1962. A watercolour by Christopher Webb Smith surfaced in the Balfour Library of Cambridge University. Subsequently Michell’s architectural sketch appeared. It was among his daughter’s watercolour albums. It shows a rather plain whitewashed oblong building. It was covered by a thatched roof topped with a wooden bell-turret surmounted with a cross.
The stone for St. Paul’s was obtained free from the neighbouring estate of De Smidt. Funds were raised by appealing for public donations. Governor D’Urban and his wife attended the opening ceremony. Many other Cape Town citizens joined them. A visitor described the little church as very light very plain without either gallery or ceiling but airy and commodious.
Bishop Gray held strong views on church architecture. He favored the Gothic Revival style. It fittingly expressed the divine function of a church. Soon after arriving in Cape Town Bishop Gray met with the parishioners of St Paul’s. They discussed extensions to this church. Among assorted plans submitted was a plan of a church in the Decorated style provided by the Bishop. This proposal was accepted. The foundation stone was laid on 20 February 1849 by then Governor Sir Harry Smith.
By 1884 St Paul’s had achieved its present appearance. A Lady Chapel and a new chancel were added to an extended basilica-shaped nave. The bell-turret rose from the front wall. London architect W. White completed the later additions. He was noted for his part in 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture and church restorations.
The property of St Paul’s is in the midst of the Commercial Centre of Rondebosch. It still serves the original purpose. Six eminent citizens had requested the Governor’s grant of Land for a church. Today St. Paul’s stands as a lasting symbol of faith community and architectural evolution in Cape Town.