st philips church

St Philips Church
Address: St Philips Street Where is this place?
St Philips Church is situated on the corner of St Philip and Callington Street. The church started as a mission church in about 1872 with families, mostly Dutch speaking, who had moved to Port Elizabeth from what is now the Western Cape. The church started in a wool store in Strand Street before moving to the Mechanic's Institute in Donkin Street when a lack of space took them to the then St Paul's Boys' Schoolroom. Here they became the responsibility of the Rector of St Paul's with the ministry starting to prosper under a Mr PR Mollett, a teacher, who later became St Philip's first Rector. An application for land from the Municipal Council was made which was granted under a special Deed of Transfer dated 1883. This deed vested the property under three Trustees, one of whom was the Mayor of Port Elizabeth and the other two elected by the congregants. The foundation stone of the present church was laid in May 1883 with the church being dedicated in 1884. The church has seen many ups and downs, losing numerous parishioners to other parishes when the Group Areas forced removal of families from Central and South End. The last Rector was appointed in 1960. But the church still stands today and still continues doing its work.

The house next door to the church, named “St Philips B & B” was the original St Philips Church rectory before restored and converted to its current state.