Breede Valley, Rawsonville, Dutch Reformed Church, Goudini

Abstract

Rawsonville, Goudini Dutch Reformed Church. The Goudini Dutch Reformed Church at Rawsonville dates from 1879 and a memorial plaque, put up in 1979, refers to this fact. The church houses two bells, one in the white and easily accessible tower, the other in a bell tower outside the church. 1. The only decorations on the bell in the tower are cast on the top of the bell, above the shoulder. There it reads, Horlosie Fabrikante Johannesburg. This company precedes the South African Organ Builders, that has been responsible for a vast number of Petit & Fritsen bells in the country. The older company is mainly known for its production of tower clocks. As with other business of this kind the production of bells was secondary and mostly outsourced to other companies. Unfortunately, the latter are almost never mentioned. We found another bell of a similar type in the DRC of Bellville-West. 2. The bell in the garden of the church hangs high up in a horseshoe type construction. The bell has a fair number of moulding wires: Two pairs can be found right below the shoulder, three above the sound bow and a further two on the lip of the bell. On the side of the bell stands, Woodhead Plant & Co. The company Woodhead Plant & Co. used to be involved in agricultural equipment. However, more information is missing. Also, this bell is the first so far with a reference to the company.