The Anglican Church came to the valley with the English-speaking settlers who bought plots in Greyton after 1854 [TBV]. Its congregation today worships at St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Greyton, which is listed in the Register. This page gathers what is known of its history in the valley, which is still little.
What the letters in square brackets mean
Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.
- [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by at least two sources that do not depend on each other, or by an official record.
- [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from the institution’s own records, histories, or statements, or from one community’s own sources. It has not been checked against sources that do not depend on them.
- [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.
At a glance
| In the valley | In Greyton, from the late 1800s [TBV] |
| Church building | St Andrew’s, built in 1904 [MS] |
| What it is | Part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa [IC] |
| Today | Part of the Diocese of False Bay, formed in 2005, whose area includes the Overberg [TBV] |
In Greyton
Greyton was founded by Herbert Vigne, an Englishman, and its early plot owners included people of British descent, among them the family of Elizabeth Belshaw [MS]. Within fifty years of its founding, Greyton had two churches [TBV].
The first Anglican services in Greyton were held in an old flat-roofed building, which later became the Moravian school and is now the town library [TBV]. St Andrew’s church was built in 1904 [MS]. Theewaterskloof Municipality’s planning documents note that the church and the streets around it form an attractive historic streetscape [IC].
The gravestones of Herbert and Elizabeth Vigne were later moved to the grounds of St Andrew’s [MS].
The wider church
The Anglican Church at the Cape grew under British rule after 1806 [TBV]. The Diocese of Cape Town was divided into three in 2005, and the Overberg became part of the new Diocese of False Bay [IC].
What is still open
- When Anglican services began in Greyton, and who led them.
- Who built St Andrew’s, and whether any Anglican work reached Heuwelkroon or the mission villages.
- How the Group Areas removals from Greyton affected the congregation.
- Why and when the Vigne gravestones were moved to St Andrew’s.
Related
References
- GoGreyton. Greyton Village Walk. St Andrew’s built in 1904, and the Vigne gravestones.
- South African History Online. Greyton, Western Province. Two churches within fifty years of the founding.
- Wikipedia. Diocese of False Bay. The division of the Diocese of Cape Town in 2005, and the Overberg archdeaconry.
- Theewaterskloof Municipality. Planning documents on Greyton’s historic features, cited on the St Andrew’s entry.