Holy Trinity Church, Belvidere

An octavo (140mmx203mm) paperback pamphlet bound in the original slate grey printed paper covers with title and a depiction of the building in light pink and with black titles as issued, in good condition.

The book was produced to fill a long felt need to provide the public with a short historical account of the church in an easily accessible form. It is comprised of two edited chapters extracted from "A Memoir by A.G. and W.H.M. Duthie". The foundation stone was laid on 15 October 1851, and the church was consecrated on 5 October 1855 by Bishop Gray.

In early 1848, two affluent English-speaking settlers from the Knysna area Thomas Duthie and William Newdigate, rode to Cape Town to impress on the Bishop Gray, first Bishop of Cape Town, the need for clergymen in their region. On 14 September 1848 he recorded while at Belvidere, an extensive piece of land owned by Duthie. In March 1849, Duthie formed the Belvidere Church Building Committee that began to meet regularly and on 8 October 1849 they thanked Mrs Gray for providing them with 'so beautiful a design' for the church. This church is unique among Sofia Gray's churches in that it is the only Norman (Romanesque) building. The Norman style is characterized by the use of the round arch, small windows and very thick walls.