Gothic Revival Architecture Earns Listing for Church – Sheridan Media (press release)

Its popularity grew rapidly in the early 19th century, when increasingly serious and learned admirers of neo-Gothic styles sought to revive medieval Gothic architecture, in contrast to the neoclassical styles prevalent at the time. Gothic Revival architecture often has certain features,derived from the original Gothic architecturestyle, including decorative patterns, finals, scalloping, lancet windows, hood moldings and label stops. We must remember that South Africa has many fantastic examples of this type of architecture and championed by non other than the architect Sophia Gray (1814 – 1871), the wife of the bishop of Cape Town, Robert Gray.

Of the 40 churches she designed in South Africa, 15 of them were in the Great- and Little Karoo, from Montagu to Graaff-Reinet, Colesberg to Fraserburg. Most of them were built in the neo-Gothic style, with a decidedly British feel to them.

Gray was also a noted artist, and her watercolours of the churches she helped build are to be seen in a book called The Bishop’s Churches by Desmond Martin (Struik, 2005).