Langeberg, McGregor, Dutch Reformed Church

Abstract

McGregor, Dutch Reformed Church. The Dutch Reformed Church in McGregor has its founding stone on 2 November 1909. The church has a rather small bell that hangs high up in the bell room inside the tower. It could not be reached for measurements. The bell has a hammer outside and a clapper inside. This makes it possible to ring the bell manually and also electronically. The only inscription on the bell figures in the middle and reads, E. Burmester. Cape-Town. Above the sound bow are five moulding rings of which the middle is slightly thicker than the surrounding ones. As can be expected the bell is linked to a clock that has been made by Burmester in 1905. Normally Burmester acts as deliverer of clocks, not as a bell founder. One possibility is that Burmester acted as deliverer of bells and clocks. Since he needed a bell for the clock, he ordered it from a founder of his choice but with the stipulation that the founder’s name should not be mentioned on the bell.