Old church falls under hammer
Multi-purpose home needs new owner
APICTURESQUE country church built in 1878 in the tiny village of Kei Road near Stutterheim will be auctioned next week.
The historic stone building, which also served the community as a school and a library before being converted into a residential home, is situated in the tree-lined, serene Church Street and is a stone’s throw away from another beautiful historic chapel and graveyard with headstones dating back to the 19th century.
The 135-year-old stone building was the first church to be built in Kei Road village and was originally a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel.
According to the book Kei Road, 125th Anniversary 1875 – 2000 by Miles Warren (and updated by Gary Ranger), the chapel became the property of the education department after the Anglican Church became more popular with the farming community.
The authors wrote that a lay preacher called Walter Taylor, who is said to have survived the wreck of the Birkenhead by clinging to the tail of a horse which pulled him ashore, became a preacher at the church.
A Daily Dispatch visit to the charming chapel this week revealed that although the exterior appears largely intact and faithful to its historic origins, very few original features remain inside, which is badly in need of maintenance. Three large drywalled bedrooms with lowered ceilings occupy the space where pews must once have seated parishioners, while a spacious backroom with its original vaulted ceiling and decorative steel vents may once have been the setting of coffee socials following Sunday services.
Current owner Donae Lerwill, who grew up in East London but now lives in the UK, said she bought the old church in 2006 from an elderly woman called Mrs Brandt, after being entranced not only by the beautiful building, but also its pastoral setting.
“I fell in love with the church house, the space, the grounds, the village, the farming community, everything,” said Lerwill, who was 34 at the time with a long-term plan to return to South Africa and retire in Kei Road.
“My ultimate dream for the church house was to turn it into an orphanage – I mean there is loads of space. I thought of converting the loft for even more room and had ideas of being as self-sustainable as possible by growing our own veg and having some chickens.”
But Lerwill’s romantic ideas were scuppered by a string of unreliable tenants and a lack of resources to pay for maintenance.
“Over the years I have had tenants who allowed their dogs to defecate inside the house. Another tenant ran up a R36 000 Amathole (municipal) account, and most recently (I had ten- ants) who absconded owing R20 000 in rent, utilities and damages,” said Lerwill, who was quick to point out that some very dependable tenants had also rented her church which, along with an adjoining three-bedroomed house was listed on Gumtree for R800 000.
“A landlord is only as healthy as his last tenant and I have had just too many knockdowns and disappointments. Running the property has become so expensive and stressful. As much as I don’t want to sell Kei Road, I cannot go on struggling to find decent tenants anymore.”
Auctioneer Justin Rothbart said the property had potential as a daycare centre or clinic and would go under the hammer on site next Wednesday, June 18, at 10am. — barbarah@dispatch.