Karatara, Dutch Reformed Church

Abstract

The foundation stone of the church informs us that the building of the church was started on 29 October 1960, some ten years after the founding of the congregation in 1951. The architect was W. Pronkhout. The bell in the tower has been installed in the same year as the founding date, 1960, that appears on its waist. Apart from this date, the only decoration on the bell sits below the crown and above the shoulder. There appears 11422 a production number from the foundry. While the name of the founder is not mentioned on the bell, we are convinced that the bell has been cast by the German firm Weule. This firm was started in 1836 in Bockenem am Harz by J.F. Weule (1811-1897) as a clock factory. His son Friedrich (1855-1952) added bell casting from 1880 onwards. The firm was closed in 1966. Up to now we have encountered more than two dozen bells from this company in the Western Cape.