Beaufort West, Dutch Reformed Church, Gamka East

Abstract

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.