Moreson Estate -& Die Ou Kerk

Moreson Estate houses the Oldest Surviving Buildings in Barrydale,

There are three types of architecture present in Barrydale in historic buildings:
Vernacular Cape cottage – the oldest cottages in Barrydale display this style of construction, and feature white-washed mud-brick walls and thatched roofs, usually with an external chimneypiece. End gables might be present.

This property, on the corner of van Riebeeck Street and stretching down Sprigg Street, is the site of the first church built by the new community of Barrydale in 1877. The contractor was William Fullard, a member of a prominent local farming family, and Adam Plaatjies was the master builder. The carpenter was also a local man, Jacob Minnaar. The building was constructed almost entirely from locally sourced materials, with high whitewashed gables front and back, three sash windows right and left, and a thatched roof. Poplar beams and yellowwood frames were part of the construction, and to this day the wooden pegs that served as nails are in evidence. The cornerstone was laid by Ds CF Muller in 1877, but it was only in 1880 that the church came into use. The pulpit was donated by the wife of William Fullard.
The pastorie, which forms part of the property, is also of historic interest. It has a pillared verandah and the thatched roof has been replaced with corrugated
iron. The coach house on the southern side of the property has been renovated to form a weekend cottage for guests.
The history of the church is a colourful one. Five years after the opening of the church, the congregation apparently found it too small for their purposes, and as there was no lighting, services could not be held in the evenings. A decision was taken to build a new church in van Riebeeck Street, and for the ‘Ou Kerk’ to become the mission church for the local brown community. Finally, in 1939 the last service was held in the church before the new owner, GP Botha (Giepie) bought the entire property. In subsequent years the lovely old building was treated with some disrespect – the sash windows were replaced by steel-framed windows, some of the yellowwood beams were removed, and wire netting was strung from the rafters to hold fruit for drying.
In the early 2000s, Brendan and Stephanie Botha bought the entire property from Fiona Knobel, and have lovingly restored the church, the pastorie and the adjoining house known as Green Gables. Barrydale owes a debt of gratitude to the Bothas for their research into the architectural history of the buildings now known as Moreson, and for their painstaking and careful restoration.
In the old days the wagon route into Barrydale swept past the old gum trees still standing on the Moreson property and up into what was then Frere Street. This explains why the property was once known as ‘Hotagterklip’ – the hotgaterklip being a large boulder placed in the roadway to guide the left rear wheel of a wagon that was required to make a sharp turn.

At the present time there is an Anique Shop in the old church building with a lovely collection of local south African Furniture and memorabilia for sale please visit every day from 9-5 ,see Moreson on the website ,When coming into Barrydale from Montagu you