South African family history, genealogy, heritage and interesting places, past and present. All articles researched and written by Anne Lehmkuhl. COPYRIGHT ANNE LEHMKUHL, no article can be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission. EMAIL ME
St. Mark's Anglican Church in District Six needs funds
Restoration work at St. Mark's Anglican Church in District Six, Cape Town, should be completed by September, if the church can raise enough funds. Mrs. Juliet Gosling-Brown, a Londoner, is a voluntary fund-raiser for the church. She came to Cape Town two years ago to work on the project. Earlier this year she married Douglas Brown, a former parishioner at St. Mark's. The church was built in 1887 using sandstone from Table Mountain. It is one of the oldest remaining buildings in the old District Six section, yet the government offered the church money if it agreed to being demolished. The church refused. Two years ago, the restoration work was estimated to be R1,8-million. The parishioners raised R470 000 and an anonymous benefactor donated R1-million. Today the church still needs to raise about R350 000. There are almost 300 parishioners, many of whom used to live in District Six. The caretaker, Claude Arries, has been a parishioner for more than 50 years. He was baptised and married at St. Mark's.