The Dutch Reformed Church in Swellendam is the second church on the site and dates from 1910. The church is in a prominent site on the main street, next to Church Square.
The graves in the churchyard tell us about the people who shaped the history of this area.
The British played a major role in the history of South Africa and in the churchyard is the grave of Margaret Anne Brereton, the 29 year old wife of Lt Colonel Thomas Brereton who commanded the Cape Garrison for several years.
People from Scotland settled in the area: Edward Fairbairn, d.1859, who was apparently a blacksmith; Thomas Cairncross, born in Edinburgh 1800 and died in Swellendam 1866; and the Rev Robert Shand, born near Aberdeen in 1804 and died near Swellendam in 1876.
Church Square is alongside the Church.
You may be interested in
The Brereton Family
Lt Colonel Thomas Brereton
Top attractions in Swellendam
Anne Guy
It looks like a wedding cake!
Candy Blackham
It is a huge, white building which dominates the street