St Stephen’s Church, Dutch Reformed Church, Riebeeck Square, Cape Town

In 1799, during the first British occupation of the Cape, the Governor, Sir George Yonge, appropriated a portion of Riebeeck Square to build a theatre upon the site. This was opened on 17 November 1800 and by all accounts was considered by citizens of Cape Town to be a very fine building. However, it soon proved to be ineffective as a theatre and fell into disuse, and in 1838 Dr Adamson, of the Presbyterian Church, resolved to use it as a school for freed slaves. The proposal was supported by the Dutch Reformed Church, and the building, now named after St Stephen, the first martyr, was soon being used as a school during the week and as a place of worship and a religious school on Sundays. In 1857 its congregation it was incorporated into the Dutch Reformed Church, and the building was purchased by its Elders, making it, reputedly, the only Dutch Reformed Church to bear the name of a saint. During the first half of the 20th century the changing nature of the area immediately about it brought about a reduction in its congregation, and for a while it was proposed to demolish the structure and build a parking garage on the site. Fortunately the space proved too small for the project and it was abandoned. Further difficulties arose when the Apartheid Government proposed to declare the suburb a residential area for the exclusive use of the White group. This proposal too was eventually abandoned, and the church was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 22 October 1965.