Stellenbosch, Uitkyk

Abstract

Photographs and information on a bell on the Uitkyk wine estate outside Stellenbosch. The estate Uitkyk Wine Estate outside Stellenbosch has a Georgian type main house that was built in 1782. Behind the house we find a rather low bell tower with a silver coated bell. A small indent appears on the crown. The emblem on the bell is identical to the one on the bell in the Montpellier estate in Tulbagh. We can therefore safely say that this the bell was made by Barwell. The emblem shows the initials J and B on either side of a cross entwined with a B (for Birmingham) in an oval of oak leaves. It is the maker’s mark of James Barwell. Unfortunately it is not possible to get an idea about the time of founding apart from the period during which Barwell has been casting, the period between 1870 and 1920. Also the chime bells of St Mary’s Church in Woodstock, Cape Town were made by Barwell and some of the bells there carry the same emblem.