Beaufort West
http://hdl.handle.net/10019.2/14973
2024-03-29T06:02:22ZBeaufort West, Old Town Hall
http://hdl.handle.net/10019.2/5201
Beaufort West, Old Town Hall
Photographs and information on the Old Town Hall museum in Beaufort West and its bells: The OLD TOWN HALL of Beaufort West is currently a museum that contains material about the early days of the town. However, on top of the building is a sizable turret that houses bells. From the outside it is hardly possible to get a view of the bells. However, once in the turret one discovers three very neatly made bells from French origin. The three bells have the same shape and moulding
wires but only the largest bell carries instructive decorations. And this bell has a very pretty appearance. In between two decorative bands is the inscription that offers information on the founder. It reads EUGÈNE BAUDOUIN À MARSEILLE 1866. The Baudouin foundry was established in 1430 in the Saint-Pierre quarter of the French city of Marseille. The company was best known for its clock making. Bells from the company can be found in different cities, mostly in southern France. The three bells in the tower here have been forged in another location, Cours Gouffé, where the company moved in 1833. The company stopped operations around 1914.
Below the waist is a set of three moulding wires followed on the largest bell by a decorative band. A few more moulding wires above the knee and on the lip finish the decorations on all three bells.
The canons of the three bells are somewhat unique in that they have four heads of masculine figures. Unfortunately, the heads have been painted over and over again to show any details.
It remains an interesting question how this building got these French bells. Not only are French bells rather uncommon in the Western Cape, but having a neat set of three indicates that these bells have been ordered for this building. We also noticed a French Royal coat of arms in the church hall of the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk which is situated next to the old town hall. Both items suggest that there might have been close connections between the town of Beaufort West and France.
Beaufort West, Dutch Reformed Church, Gamka East
http://hdl.handle.net/10019.2/5200
Beaufort West, Dutch Reformed Church, Gamka East
Photographs and information on the Dutch Reformed Church in Gamka East, Beaufort West, and its bells.
On the West side of Beaufort West is the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk of Gamka East. The congregation was started in 1949 and the current building dates from 1950. In the tower hangs a rather large bell whose only decoration sits below the shoulder in a band that contains fish-like figures separated by the Christian symbol of the Cross and Rho sign. Exactly the same kind of decoration appears on a much smaller bell of the Witsand NG-Kerk. But in contrast to the bell in Gamka East, the Witsand bell also carries a founder’s emblem that informs us that very likely the bell has been cast by the Petit & Gebrüder Edelbrock foundry in Gescher, Westfalen, Germany, where the foundry had its main location and where currently the Deutsches Glockenmuseum is located.
Beaufort West, Dutch Reformed Church
http://hdl.handle.net/10019.2/5199
Beaufort West, Dutch Reformed Church
Photographs and information on the Dutch Reformed Church in Beaufort West and its bells. The Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk belongs to the congregation that was established in Beaufort West in 1820 and is therefore one of the oldest in the entire country. The church itself dates from 1836 and is currently under a serious and careful restauration. As a result, the bell tower is covered in scaffolds.
Within the tower are two bells that probably are from the same founder. However only the smaller of the two carries the reference
THOMAS MEARS OF LONDON FOUNDER.
The tower however also contains a very unusual set of pipes that probably have been designed for change ringing. The maker of the instrument is mentioned on a small plate above one of two sets of four pipes. It reads
HARRINGTONS PATENT TUBULAR BELLS COVENTRY.
It is somewhat doubtful that the chime has been used recently. The cords for change ringing are still in position but the hammers that are supposed to strike the tubes are in a very poor condition and cannot be used. The instrument as such is rather unique and replaces an 8-bells chime that could hardly be installed in the narrow bell tower.
Beaufort West, Methodist Church
http://hdl.handle.net/10019.2/5198
Beaufort West, Methodist Church
Photographs and information on the church bell of the Methodist Church in Beaufort West. On the main street of Beaufort West there is the Methodist Church with a detached bell tower in front of the church building. The bell is protected on both sides by iron bars and looks rather plain at first sight. Getting closer to the bell reveals on the waist the emblem of the founder Rincker and below this the year 1982. On the shoulder on the other side is an inscription in large letters that reads
EHRE SEI GOTT DER HOCHSTE. Somewhat surprising is that the bell niche has been sealed off by steel bars. Looking at older pictures of the church shows that there was another bell hanging in the tower. Probably, the church authorities wanted to prevent another stealing.