The Hartford Chapel

“The first white settlers on this property were the Moors who came to our valley in 1875. Old man Moor had two sons. John Moor, a Senator in the first Government of South Africa, was responsible for most of the development you see around the property, and Fredrick, the last Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal before Union. Fredrick was the only person to emerge from the Union talks at the South Africa convention held in Durban in 1908 with a knighthood and became Sir Fredrick for his efforts in bringing about the Union of South Africa. ”

Colonel Richard, next door at Summerhill, was incidentally the last Deputy Prime Minister, (in his capacity as the Colonial Secretary) for the Colony of Natal before Union. His house is on Summerhill and is now used for residence of the students that attends the School of Equine Management.

The Moor Sons, together with Colonel Richards and a few other families, founded on this property the beginnings of NCD dairies, the Eskort Bacon Factory and Corobrik. The dairy (where the Moors milked South Devon Cattle) was started in what is now the Chapel. And if you drive through Mooi River, you can see the large NCD buildings to give you an idea of how this little Milking Parlour developed and grew! It is the only Chapel in Africa and probably the only one in the World that have been built by two Prime Ministers, having been co-designed and co-built by Sir Fredrick Moor and the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, Louis Botha.

The doors you see before you enter are eight to nine hundred years old and are made of solid teak. They are originally from Zanzibar.

Above the door on the inside used to hang a Victorian Minister’s travelling altar piece which folds up like a suitcase. The ministers used to strap these to their horses and ride off into the district to minister to the local farmers and their families who were too far away from Church to be able to make services. (With the 2020 change of ownership, this historical item has been removed from the chapel and remains with the Goss Family).

If you look up to the front of the Chapel, you will see the cross. This has been made of red ivory wood. In Zulu lore and custom, one may not use red ivory wood for ceremonial or ornamental purposes unless you are a member of the Zulu Royal family, and so it was that with the blessing of His Majesty King Goodwill, that we came to be able to use this for its present purpose. King Goodwill’s first racehorse came from Summerhill, and he is a great friend of this farm’s.

If you look at the walls, you will see that the original tethering rings remain intact.

The stained-glass windows were painted by Cheryl Goss when they converted the building into a chapel.

This piece of history has been generously shared by Mick Goss and for many years formed a part of the famous Stud Tours.