St Peters Church (by Sophy Gray) Traditional Cache

Sophy Gray, who lived from 1814 until 1871, was the wife of Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town. Robert arrived in the Mother City in 1848 with a remit to increase the number of clergy in what was then the Cape Colony and Natal, and to implement a programme of church building.

At the time of Robert’s arrival there were only 14 members of the Anglican clergy in the Cape and only 10 churches. Over the next 25 years, between 1849 and 1880, Robert saw to the construction of about 50 churches. Robert and Sophy Gray had an abiding interest in architecture, had read several authoritative books on the subject and whilst in England, Sophy had filled several sketchbooks with drawings of traceried windows, fonts, arches, pillars and other details of church architecture. She had a natural ability at drawing and was a self-taught architect, but consulted with professionals in the field when it came to the layout of all the churches attributed to her name. The Sophy Gray church with the loveliest setting is arguably Saint Peter’s in Plettenberg Bay. The church is situated close to a grove of trees and overlooks the beach and ocean towards the distant Tsitsikama Mountains. Saint Peter’s is built of a random selection of stones. Noteworthy features are the buttresses set at right angles to each corner of the west wall and the scissors truss roof.

REFERENCE: www.southmagazine.co.za