Emmanuel Cathedral

This group of buildings creates a focal point in the Grey street matrix. Consisting  of three stylishly linked buildings, it was commissioned by Bishop Jolivet and built in 1902 to designs prepared by W Street Wilson.   The brick and plaster Cathedral,  with its strong  neo-Gothic and   French   provincial   references,   has   a    simple   articulated  basilica   plan   with  an asymmetrically positioned tower and two corner pavilions flanking the main doors. The tower rises from the corner of Cathedral Lane and is surmounted by a  unique tropical  veranda belfry under an elegant fleche.   Internally the Cathedral is significant for its simple spatial definition, focusing down the axis of the nave onto a sanctuary,  which is beautifully enriched with nee-Gothic plaster moulds.   Clever detailing had provided a most efficient natural ventilation system, which allows air to flow up through the clerestory windows and rosettes in the vaulted ceilings.  The presbytery is a  charming companion to the Cathedral  facing out over the cemetery.  The main architectural feature of the Presbytery garden is the grave of Fr. Saban, who arrived in Natal in  1852 and was buried here in January 1885.  Across Queen Street is the Gandhi Library. In summer the Muslims stage a procession of floats to mark the tenth day of the first month of  the  Muslim calendar.    This  is  to  remind  the  faithful  of  the martyrdom  of  the  Son of Mohammed.

The Drakensberg

The Drakensberg

Geology The Drakensberg Mountains had their onqm some 200 million years. ago when a vast landmass...

Piet Retief’s Grave

Piet Retief’s Grave

The treaty under which the Voortrekkers received land from Dingane was signed on 6 February 1838....

uMgungundlovu

uMgungundlovu

The  seat of power of Dingane from  1828 to 1839 is preserved as a  site museum. The iKhanda was...

R E Stevenson Museum

R E Stevenson Museum

The R E  Stevenson Museum was established in 1974, and is devoted to the history of the town and...

Old Parsonage Museum

Old Parsonage Museum

This charming sandstone building on the corner of Kerk and Loop Streets, in  Utrecht is now a...

Uys monument

Uys monument

Hlobane 20km east of Vryheid was the scene of a desperate struggle against the Zulu where Boer and...

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