Drakenstein, Wellington, St Albans Anglican Church

Abstract

High up in a bell cote of the Saint Albans Anglican Church in Wellington, hangs a shiny bell that is unreachable to take its measurements. Fortunately, we have been able to recognize the decorations on the bell. The bell has no crown. On the visible side and in the middle of the bell we find an emblem that consists of a triangle standing on a corner. Within the triangle are three anchors, with the middle one larger than the two adjoining ones. Below this follows the inscription: H.E. RUTHERFOORD.&.BRO. CAPE.TOWN. and a pair of moulding wires on the sound bow of the bell. Howson Edwards RUTHERFOORD (1794-1862) was a very successful business man who together with a brother owned the firm H.E.Rutherfoord & Bro. The firm was active in the shipping industry and had its main office on 3 Burg Street, Cape Town. The emblem on the bell with its three anchors probably was the emblem of the firm. Among the ships that have been linked to the firm are Northam, Syria and Windsor Castle. This last ship was one of the boats that brought the bells of the Cape Town carillon to South Africa. Rutherfoord was known for his charity, generosity and piety. Towards the end of his life he was a member of the Legislative Council at the Cape. In 1864 his family erected a fountain in his memory in the Company Gardens. The English spelling of Cape Town suggests that the bell might only be some 150 years old. It would be highly doubtful that Rutherfoord himself has been involved in bell founding. We rather expect that the bell – like the much larger bell in the old church of Tulbagh – have been cast by an unknown founder on behalf of Rutherfoord as sponsor of the bells.