Page 142 - Bulletin 20 2016
P. 142
139
His Buildings and his Will
After the demolition of the thatched-roof house and the fisherman’s cottage Marsh instructed
his architects William Black & Fagg to design a substantial double-storey home which he
named Roxton. Marsh was a man of means and his house at 180 Main Road, Kalk Bay is one
of the most impressive buildings along the False Bay Coast. It was completed in January
1922. Black & Fagg followed the design of Roxton in that of the chauffeur’s cottage and a
garage on the north-end of the property. (Figs. 3.11 & 3.12.)
William George Black (known by his second name) was an outstanding architect and was
senior partner in his practice with William Fagg. He completed many projects in the South
Peninsula. These included, not only Roxton, but the Synagogue in Camp Road, Muizenberg,
Attwell’s Bakery on Main Road, Simon’s Town (The ABC building), Attwell’s Bakery on
Main Road Lakeside (today The Old Bakery).
He also designed his own home in St. James as well as other homes in the area. While he was
still working on the plans of a chapel hall for Marsh on Main Road below Roxton he
contracted double-pneumonia and died aged fifty-four, in July 1922. His brother Herbert
Black & William Fagg completed the design early 1923 and in 1925 redesigned the hall into
the Wesley-Methodist Chapel. (Fig. 3.13.)
A prominent member of the congregation of this chapel was the Reverend Joseph Ward, who
was Principal of the Bible Institute in 1939. He was an educationalist at heart and enjoyed
teaching and was greatly respected among the students of the Bible Institute at the Manor
House. He lived alongside Harbour Cottage, Main Road, Kalk Bay, near the harbour
entrance. He had come to Kalk Bay to recuperate from a heart ailment but sadly died of
pneumonia in 1940.
The Methodist congregation discontinued using the chapel in August 1981 after they had
chosen to move to the Methodist Church, First Avenue, Fish Hoek. From then on the little
chapel became an interdenominational church, as per the Doctrinal Statement of the Bible
Institute, and is now known as the Kalk Bay Community Church. It holds two services each
