The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel had voted £500 in 1820 for the erection of a church in Cape Town, this gift was declined by the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset.
However, while he was in England next year, he wrote to Lord Bathurst, the Secretary of State for War (who administered the colonies), asking him to obtain the £500 for Grahamstown, where
there is a British Population of upwards of 3000 persons (including the Military) totally destitute of any place of Worship whatever, and under the circumstances that no assistance can be expected to be derived from its Inhabitants in the erection of a Church, they being all Settlers or Soldiers.

The Society very generously agreed, and voted the £500 for Grahamstown, the balance of the money needed was supplied by the colonial treasury.
Plans were prepared by W Jones, a land surveyor of Cape Town, and the building erected by George Gilbert also of Cape Town.
Sir George Cory thus summarizes the agreement entered into by these persons, and dated 9 September 1824:
The walls from the foundations up to the height of the galleries to be 2ft.
6in.
thick and horn there to the roof 2ft.
3in.
One side wall was to be supported by two buttresses and the other by three.
The roof was to be of thatch.
A square tower to be taken up 10 feet higher than the roof and to have a flat top covered with lime and shells.
The floors where not occupied by pews to be paved with stone; the "communion" to be raised one foot above the level of the floor and to consist of two equal steps.
The columns under the galleries to be of wood, square and framed with panels.
Mr Gilbert was allowed to cut down any timber, quarry stone and take clay for bricks from the nearest Government land and to be paid Rds54,000 (£4,050).

It was later decided to use zinc for the roof instead of thatch at an additional cost of Rds 4,730 (£354 15s.).
Even so, the roof caused further delays in the completion of the building, which was not opened until 1830.
The new church was of course not consecrated, but it bore the name of St George's.
The fragment of it that remains, the south wall, is the oldest piece of English Church architecture in the country.

William Geary, the first Colonial Chaplain of Grahamstown (who was appointed and removed by Bathurst), reached the scene of his labours in February 1823.
The Colonial Chaplain was frankly a member of the civil service, all collection plate moneys received were paid straight into the public treasury, and when the Chaplain needed anything, he had to apply for it through the same channel as any other civil servant.

The Colonial Secretary is, therefore requested to forward "a tankard, two cups, four plates, a table-cloth, and a surplice".
These were received on 8 September following, less the surplice, and Geary then wanted a Bible and a Prayer-Book.

An interesting figure reached Grahamstown in 1833.
This was John Heavyside, a missionary of S.P.G. in India.
After doing duty at Stellenbosch and elsewhere, he was appointed acting Chaplain at Grahamstown, the appointment being made permanent in 1838.
At the time of his arrival, St George's had developed so far as to have a slightly more ecclesiastical form of administration than the landdrost.
This was the Church Committee, which probably came into existence at the time the building was opened.
Members were appointed by the Government, on the recommendation of the committee.
This method of administration was changed by the Church Ordinance of 1839 (during the governorship of Sir George Napier), which remained in force until 1891.
The ordinance is an imposing document,
" enacted by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof," and to "be judicially taken notice of by all Judges, Magistrates, and others without being specially pleaded."
It handed over the "administration and management of all matters connected with the church of Graham's Town, commonly called St George’s Church" to a vestry of not more than eight persons.
This vestry was to be elected annually on the second Tu
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel had voted £500 in 1820 for the erection of a church in Cape Town, this gift was declined by the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset. However, while he was in England next year, he wrote to Lord Bathurst, the Secretary of State for War (who administered the colonies), asking him to obtain the £500 for Grahamstown, where
there is a British Population of upwards of 3000 persons (including the Military) totally destitute of any place of Worship whatever, and under the circumstances that no assistance can be expected to be derived from its Inhabitants in the erection of a Church, they being all Settlers or Soldiers.
The Society very generously agreed, and voted the £500 for Grahamstown, the balance of the money needed was supplied by the colonial treasury. Plans were prepared by W Jones, a land surveyor of Cape Town, and the building erected by George Gilbert also of Cape Town. Sir George Cory thus summarizes the agreement entered into by these persons, and dated 9 September 1824:
The walls from the foundations up to the height of the galleries to be 2ft. 6in. thick and horn there to the roof 2ft. 3in. One side wall was to be supported by two buttresses and the other by three. The roof was to be of thatch. A square tower to be taken up 10 feet higher than the roof and to have a flat top covered with lime and shells. The floors where not occupied by pews to be paved with stone; the "communion" to be raised one foot above the level of the floor and to consist of two equal steps. The columns under the galleries to be of wood, square and framed with panels. Mr Gilbert was allowed to cut down any timber, quarry stone and take clay for bricks from the nearest Government land and to be paid Rds54,000 (£4,050).
It was later decided to use zinc for the roof instead of thatch at an additional cost of Rds 4,730 (£354 15s.). Even so, the roof caused further delays in the completion of the building, which was not opened until 1830. The new church was of course not consecrated, but it bore the name of St George's. The fragment of it that remains, the south wall, is the oldest piece of English Church architecture in the country.
William Geary, the first Colonial Chaplain of Grahamstown (who was appointed and removed by Bathurst), reached the scene of his labours in February 1823. The Colonial Chaplain was frankly a member of the civil service, all collection plate moneys received were paid straight into the public treasury, and when the Chaplain needed anything, he had to apply for it through the same channel as any other civil servant.
The Colonial Secretary is, therefore requested to forward "a tankard, two cups, four plates, a table-cloth, and a surplice". These were received on 8 September following, less the surplice, and Geary then wanted a Bible and a Prayer-Book.
An interesting figure reached Grahamstown in 1833. This was John Heavyside, a missionary of S.P.G. in India. After doing duty at Stellenbosch and elsewhere, he was appointed acting Chaplain at Grahamstown, the appointment being made permanent in 1838. At the time of his arrival, St George's had developed so far as to have a slightly more ecclesiastical form of administration than the landdrost. This was the Church Committee, which probably came into existence at the time the building was opened. Members were appointed by the Government, on the recommendation of the committee. This method of administration was changed by the Church Ordinance of 1839 (during the governorship of Sir George Napier), which remained in force until 1891. The ordinance is an imposing document,
" enacted by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof," and to "be judicially taken notice of by all Judges, Magistrates, and others without being specially pleaded." It handed over the "administration and management of all matters connected with the church of Graham's Town, commonly called St George’s Church" to a vestry of not more than eight persons. This vestry was to be elected annually on the second Tu
St Michael and St George Cathedral, Makhanda