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History: The church was opened on the first Sunday of January 1831. It had taken 4 years to build the church. Bartlett died in 1849 and Cornelis Kok kept up the services by using Griqua lay readers. In 1889 the???

This site was one of the earliest centres of Christianity north of the Vaal River. It was visited by such early travellers as William Burchell, John Campbell, George Thompson, Dr Andrew Smith, Dr David Livingstone and others

The main road from Kimberley to the west crosses the Vaal at Schmidtsdrift. Forty kilometres further on one reaches Kaap Plateau and, after ascending Campbell Kloof, the little village of Campbell. On the left of the road, next to the hotel, stands one of the oldest mission churches north of the Orange River.
The history of Campbell goes back to 1804 when the place was known as Knovel Valley. A number of Griquas under the leadership of “Short” Adam Kok were attracted by the strongly-flowing springs and settled there in 1811. Two years later, when the missionary-traveller John Campbell visited the place, it was nan’ied after him.
The population of Campbell increased appreciably in 1816 when old Cornelis Kok, the father of Captain Adam Kok of Griquatown, with his son Cornelis and a considerable following also settled there. In 1820 the Rev. John Campbell revisited this Griqua settlement and it was decided to establish a mission station. The Rev. C. Sass began his work there but he could not endure the place for long and in 1825 he was succeeded by the Rev. John Bartlett. Bartletl was originally a blacksmith in a Cape Town shipyard but qualified as a missionary in his spare time; He applied himself to his missionary work amongst the Griquas with more than ordinary devotion. He realised the need for a church as soon as he got there and with the little money he had saved from his blacksmithing days he bought land and began to build a school which also served as a church. The quarrels between the Griqua chiefs, the drought of 1827 and the general inertia of the Griquas not only delayed the completion of the church and mission house, but made it a difficult undertaking lasting four years. On the first Sunday of January, 1831, the church could at last be opened. The missionary’s house was finished at the same time.
It stands to reason that both buildings were of the simplest construction and built of materials that were obtainable in the immediate vicinity. The church, which has undergone comparatively little alteration, is an unusually solid structure. The heavy ironstone foundations were laid on limestone. The walls, 76 centimetres thick at the bottom and tapering upwards, were partially built of dolerite, with the spaces filled and finished off with limestone. Ordinary clay mixed with dung served as mortar. A clay floor, a thatched roof supported by buttresses of poles cut from thorn trees and a roughly made door and windows completed the building. The total cost of building the church was 800 riksdaalders. Bartlett received no contribution from the London Missionary Society and had to make up the amount from his own pocket.
When Bartlett died in 1849 no one was appointed in his place, but Cornelis Kok kept up the services by making use of Griqua lay readers. When the traveller Chapman visited Campbell in 1854 the Church was still the most important building in the place. In 1879 Sir Charles Warren found Bartlett’s widow living in the building. Ten years later it was sold to Charles Harrison and J. H. Hofmeyr, the owners of the shop and hotel. The thatched roof fell into disrepair, but at the end of the century the church fortunately came into the possession of Mr. S. B. Humphreys who took a keen interest in antiquities. He had the church restored, but in the process of restoration the thatched roof was replaced by a corrugated iron one and the south-facing side door and windows were built up. The old mission house fell into total ruin.
From then on the Humphreys family looked upon the old church as a family responsibility. When heavy rains caused the north wall to collapse during the first decade of this century Mr. W. B. Humphreys, a son of S. B., gave instructions that it should be rebuilt, re-using the same blocks of dolerite and limestone, the same window frames and even the same clay in the restoration. In the 1950’s Mr. Basil Humphreys (of the third generation to take an interest in the structure) took charge of the properties in this village, including the church. He cared for it with almost religious fervour and it soon regained its status as a place of worship when regular services were renewed under the auspices of the Archdeacon of Kimberley.
Thus we see this little church, which has withstood the storms and vicissitudes of time, as a simple monument, more than usually in accord with its environment.
Visual Description: The heavy ironstone foundations were laid on limestone. The walls are partially built of dolerite. O
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Site Features:
Condition: PoorThe front door requires treatment. Pointing needs to be improved. Signboards at entrance to be re
Construction Date: 1831
Materials: Stone : Thatch
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