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Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk
De Aar, Northern Cape
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Click to view large map Coordinates: | Die huidige kerksaal is in 1906 gebou, nege jaar voor die gemeente gestig is. Nadat die nuwe kerk in 1923 gebou is, is die oue se toring verwyder sodat die gebou as kerksaal kon dien. In 1959 is sowel die kerk as saal met sierstene bedek. Die argitek van die herstel en veranderinge aan albei geboue was W. de W. BRONKHORST. Dis nie bekend aan my wanneer die saal se siersteenbedekking verwyder is nie, maar die kerkgebou s’n hou nog. Die siersteenbedekking van die saal is te sien rondom die nuwe hoeksteen. (Morné van Rooyen, 2015) The current hall was built in 1906, nine years before the community was founded. After the new church was built in 1923, the old tower was removed so that the building could serve as a church hall. In 1959 both the church and hall were clad with brick. The architect of the renovations and changes to both buildings was the W. de W. BRONKHORST. It is not known to me when the hall's brick cladding removed, but the church's has remained. The brick cladding of the hall can be seen around the new cornerstone. For more information about this Nederduitse Gereformeerde community visit Wikipedia. ________________ This church was the first of a number of typical Wynand H Louw churches. Externally it was a white-plastered octagonal Centraalbouw church with a wide narthex formed by a gable flanked by a tower on the left and a cylindrical staircase on the right. The gable has a round air vent that looks like a rose window above seven arched windows above three arched front doors. Louw would often use the symbolic numbers three and seven in later designs. Circular seating, divided into three equal wedges, face the pulpit which was placed against the back of the octagon facing the narthex. Behind it, a short wing was added to house the konsistorie. A sloped gallery with an elegantly curved wooden balustrade housed the organ above the main entrance. All seats, including those on the gallery have clear views of the liturgical centre. Internally the high domed ceilings create the illusion of a Greek cross. An interesting detail is two Corinthian-styled columns to the sides of the pulpit which support the cross-shaped ceiling. The columns were partly clad with wood in 1959. The cross arm behind the pulpit forms an apse. In 1956 the kerkraad approached Wollie BRONKHORST just before he left Louw & Louw for advice regarding the external walls of the church which required regular maintenance. After years of discussion, the church was eventually externally clad with face brick in 1959 to improve the waterproofing. Ironically, the cladding itself created major waterproofing problems early in the 21st century when parts of it started to separate from the walls behind. The project cost to address this was more than for the original church. Internally wood-panelling was added to the side walls and two columns. At the same time the original church, which was repurposed as a church hall in 1923, was also clad with brick. According to the church office, the face brick covering of the church hall was removed in the 1990s to be used for an extension to the konsistorie of the 1913 church, in order to ensure that the brickwork to the extension matched the existing bricks of the church. (Geldenhuys 2023:153-156) References:
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