Swellendam, Barrydale, Dutch Reformed Church

Abstract

Photographs and information on the church bells of the Dutch Reformed Church in Barrydale. The Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk Barrydale in the town was established in 1880. The current church building dates from 1908. The church has two large bells, one inside the tower and one in a detached construction outside. First the bell inside. The bell sits in a wooden stool with a hammer outside and a clapper inside. The only inscriptions are on the crown where we find the text E. BURMESTER CAPE TOWN As can be expected the bell is linked to a clock that has been made by J.E. Weule from Bochenheim in 1908. The whole setup is a bit unusual. Normally Burmester acts as deliverer of clocks, not as a bell founder. For example, there is a Burmester clock in the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk in Wynberg, where we lack information of the 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. We encountered similar situations for example in the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk in Calitzdorp where the clock was installed by Eijsbouts but with bells from the Petit & Gebrüders foundry in Germany. In the garden around the church stands another bell, this time within a metal frame. The bell has been delivered by the same Burmester and has even larger dimensions than the one in the tower. Moreover, the bell has been painted white. As a result, the inscriptions are harder to read.