Your association is proud to invite you to a talk by Philipe Menache co author of 3 beautiful books on country churches in South Africa. The 3rd of which has only recently been released (click here to read a review). Philip is no stranger to the Swellendam Heritage Association (SHA). Despite living in Gauteng he is a member of our association and has presented to the association on a previous occasion.

Church Tourism in South Africa - Book Cover.jpg

Book Cover

His latest book “Church Tourism in South Africa – A Travel Odyssey” seeks to expose to the discerning reader the extraordinary variety and beauty of SA’s ecclesiastical architecture. During the 19th and early 20th Centuries, architects came to South Africa from different parts of Europe and elsewhere, and their different architectural styles have resulted in the legacy that we have today. This has also been complemented by home-grown talent such as Gerard Moerdijk and Wynand Louw.

Philippe expresses grave concern on the potential loss of heritage church buildings - nowhere is this more obvious than in the rural areas, where many churches have suffered dwindling congregations, and cannot afford the maintenance and upkeep.

Philippe is an accomplished speaker with an easy style of delivery, and we are sure that you will enjoy Philippe's talk which will be about the churches he has photographed in his new book accompanied by some of the photographs and the journeys he took to accomplish this.

We have requested that Philippe bring copies of his book with him as we are sure there will be members who would like to purchase a copy. The book sells for R 300.00 per copy. It is A 4, full-colour photos + text and consists of 164 pages, featuring 153 churches.

Details are as follows:

When: Wednesday 29th March 2017.
Where: Drostdy Schuur.
Time: 18h00 (6 p.m)
Refreshments: Snacks and wine will be available.
Cost: R 50.00 members and R 70.00 visitors
RSVP: p.bromley05@gmail.com by evening 27th march for catering purposes.