Dutch Reformed Mother Church (George) Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

ROTSIP: No response from owner regarding the maintenance needs, and it has been considerably longer than 90 days since the listing was Disabled to create an opportunity for maintenance action.
This cache appears to be gone, and it seems unlikely that it will be replaced soon, as the CO has been inactive for more than 6 months, so I'm archiving it.
If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the future, just contact us (by email, quoting the GC number), and assuming it meets the current guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.
Thanks for the past fun.

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Hidden : 6/25/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

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Perhaps one of the loveliest sights in George is the Dutch Reformed Church at the head of Meade Street framed by the gracious oak trees which line the street with the mountain as a backdrop. The cornerstone of this historic "crosschurch" was laid by the Rev Johan SS Ballot on 14 April 1832. The excavations for the foundations were six foot deep by five foot wide so as to "bear the heavy burden" of walls three foot thick.

Building material consisted of 180 wagon-loads of foundation, paving and flat stones and 1,896,756 bricks. Bricks made by members of the congregation in their own kilns have not been taken into account.

The enormous amount of yellow-wood (the ceilings, the pillars supporting the galleries and the panelling of the galleries) and the stinkwood used came from local forests, Plettenberg Bay and Knysna. The teak door of the main entrance was brought from Cape Town to George by oxwagon. The pulpit, designed and constructed by Mr Heyns who finished the task in a year, is made from local stinkwood at a cost of R400. The original roof was made from reeds which, like the lime used in the building, came from Riversdale.

Disaster struck the community when the church steeple collapsed on 13 September 1905. Rain had been blown through the open windows for years and had weathered the woodwork and weakened the walls to such an extent that the ten inches of rain that fell during three days caused the brickwork to crumble. The present bell was bought at the time of reconstruction and the London firm of Philipson and Stow presented the steeple clock.

The historical old sundial next to the path of the main entrance was erected by surveyor Edmore one and a quarter centuries ago.

People sometimes refer to the building as the "cross-church” as it is in a symbolic cross shape.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

12 B'pybpx

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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