St Michael and All Angels Church, Blantyre

St. Michael and All Angels Church was constructed from 1888 to 1891 of brick at the Blantyre Mission in Blantyre, Malawi. It is located on the original Scottish mission site, off Chileka Rd, and is in the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian’s Blantyre Synod.[1][2] Since 1991, it has been partnered with Hiland Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[3] In 1885, Lieutenant H. E. O'Neil determined the longitude of Blantyre to be 2 hours 20 minutes 13.56 seconds east of Greenwich by means of a series of 365 sets of lunar observations, and a plaque installed in the side of the church commemorates this achievement. The church has been described as

the first permanent Christian Church erected ... between the Zambezi and the Nile. – Rev. Alexander Hetherwick C.B.E., D.D., F.R.G.S.

West-facing facade
South side of St Michael and All Angels Church

Construction

The church was designed, and its construction managed, by Rev. David Clement Scott, who had no formal architectural training.[4][5] Labor was provided by local men without previous experience in this type of construction.[5] All the bricks used were made on-site from local clay and fired in wood-fueled kilns.[6] It has been estimated that eighty-one different forms of bricks were used in the building.[6] The most common bricks are 12 by 6 by 3 inches,[6] laid up in English bond.

Scott made no detailed drawings before construction began.[7] Instead, each detail was tested with dry bricks before final assembly.[7] The dimensions are approximately 106 feet long, 30 feet wide from aisle wall to aisle wall, and 37 feet high to the crest of the roof.[7] Scott described his plan thus:

The form was a Latin cross with very short transepts, (10 feet outside measurement). A short choir, (12 feet outside measurement), and a semi-circular apse of 8 feet radius. The aim was to make a comely Presbyterian place of worship.[7]

Design and structural elements include arches, domes, and flying buttresses.[8] The two towers are not identical.[8] A Moorish, domed bell tower, which contains a circular staircase, is built into the angle between the south-western tower and the wall of the south aisle.[8] The interior consists of a Byzantine arcade of six arches.[8]

Modifications and renovations

An organ was installed in the North transept in 1907, and electric light was installed in 1912.[9] The organ was replaced in 1954.[5] The church underwent renovations in the 1970s, but has changed little in appearance since it was built.[10] A large crack was found and repaired with flitch plates and turnbuckles.[11]

Surroundings

The church building itself is accompanied by a clock tower, about 30 yards to the north, and is surrounded by additional buildings that at one time housed a school, a hospital, a printing press, and a carpentry shop.[12] The grounds now include both a modern multi-purpose hall and the Henry Henderson Institute, named in honour of the Scottish missionary Henry Henderson (1843–91).[13]

  • East end with semi-circular apse
  • Stained glass in the apse as seen through door in facade
  • North side detail
  • Clock tower
  • Brick detail
  • Brick detail
  • Brick detail
  • Brick detail
  • Plaque on clock tower
  • Plaque on clock tower
  • Plaque on clock tower
  • Plaque on front
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References
  1. "The Presbyterian Church in Canada". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  2. "CityInfo Guide, Blantyre, Malawi". Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  3. "Financially Supported". Hiland Presbyterian Church. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  4. Douglas Rennie (2007). "Blantyre Mission Church" (PDF). The Federal Saints. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  5. Rev. Alexander Hetherwick C.B.E., D.D., F.R.G.S. (1962). "Preface". The building of Blantyre Church, Nyasaland, 1888–1891: being the story of a great achievement (PDF). Blantyre Synod Bookshop. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  6. Rev. Alexander Hetherwick C.B.E., D.D., F.R.G.S. (1962). "I. Preparation". The building of Blantyre Church, Nyasaland, 1888–1891: being the story of a great achievement (PDF). Blantyre Synod Bookshop. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  7. Rev. Alexander Hetherwick C.B.E., D.D., F.R.G.S. (1962). "II. The Building". The building of Blantyre Church, Nyasaland, 1888–1891: being the story of a great achievement (PDF). Blantyre Synod Bookshop. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  8. Rev. Alexander Hetherwick C.B.E., D.D., F.R.G.S. (1962). "II. The Interior". The building of Blantyre Church, Nyasaland, 1888–1891: being the story of a great achievement (PDF). Blantyre Synod Bookshop. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  9. Rev. Alexander Hetherwick C.B.E., D.D., F.R.G.S. (1962). "II. The Interior". The building of Blantyre Church, Nyasaland, 1888–1891: being the story of a great achievement (PDF). Blantyre Synod Bookshop. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  10. "CCAP Church". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  11. Rev. Alexander Hetherwick C.B.E., D.D., F.R.G.S. (1962). "Addendum". The building of Blantyre Church, Nyasaland, 1888–1891: being the story of a great achievement (PDF). Blantyre Synod Bookshop. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  12. Anne Hepburn. "Roots and Fruits – Anne Hepburn: Malawi 1950 – 1966" (PDF). Towards 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  13. Victor Kaonga. "NDAGHA: Monday, November 16, 2009". Retrieved 2010-01-22.
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