Crossroads

This is the St Philips Anglican Church in Richmond Hill, with a commanding view of the sea from the brow of the hill. As you can see from the sign, it is directly opposite Richmond Park. In the early days of PE, this hill used to be a location covered with traditional M'Fengu beehive straw … Continue reading Crossroads →

dirty details.

Here is a close up look at Ken Denton's shameful legacy. Yesterday we showed you the original historic documents relating to these houses. This is how they look today.And the closer you get, the worse it is. These once proud properties are mostly rented out to illegal immigrants, and the decorative woodwork is apparently being … Continue reading dirty details. →

In the beginning…….

Here are 3 fascinating pages found amongst the collection of historic documents at our main library.They are from the original fragile land books of the early 1800s in which all grants of land by the Colonial Government to the city were detailed. They are hand written in flowing copperplate, and accompanied by hand drawn maps … Continue reading In the beginning……. →

Hideousness from the 80s

This is the Mount Road Police Station. It is hideous on many levels, the most apparent being the austere looking architecture which is typical of many apartheid era government buildings. There is a sort of repressive nazi look about them before you even know what went on inside. This building has a nasty history. It … Continue reading Hideousness from the 80s →

The Feathermarket Centre

In PEs early days, it was the major port for the export of hugely popular ostrich feathers. The ostrich industry was thriving, and a huge hall was built close to the harbour at which the feathers were auctioned. Over the years the industry declined, and the hall was used for concerts and other public gatherings. … Continue reading The Feathermarket Centre →

The Bubonic Plague…

Continuing the Richmond Hill story from yesterday (and if you are new to this thread, go back to the post called Places of Worship #6 for the background history), the area known as the Strangers Location and the lands owned by the London Missionary Society had an outbreak of Bubonic Plague in 1903, and were … Continue reading The Bubonic Plague… →

Old House

The other day we gave a brief description of the history of the Richmond Hill area. We mentioned that part of it was called the Strangers Location, and next to it was a section owned by the London Missionary Society, and used to help house workers, mostly employed at the Port. Here is an old … Continue reading Old House →

Places of Worship #6

Part of Richmond Hill was originally known as "The Location for Native Strangers" and was set aside in 1855 for the Khoi San and Mfengu workers who mostly worked on loading and unloading the ships at the fast growing Port. (Yup, I’m afraid the British Colonial Government established Apartheid long before the Nats actually gave … Continue reading Places of Worship #6 →

Places of Worship # 5

This is St Augustines Catholic Church, just off Market Square in the City Centre. It is built on a steep cliff face on the side of one of the streets leading up the Hill to Central. The foundation stone was laid in 1861, and the steeple completed and the church consecrated in 1866. It became … Continue reading Places of Worship # 5 →

Icing on the Cake

I love this wonderfully maintained old building which is just round the corner from our house. It was a gracious mansion at one time, but is now used as offices. This kind of decorative detail always reminds me of cake icing!