St Boniface Church Germiston, Anglican church in Germiston, South Africa
St Boniface Church is a stone Anglican church in Germiston, designed by Sir Herbert Baker in 1908 and built in 1910. It seats about 400 people across a nave, chancel, sanctuary, a 16-seat Lady Chapel and the All Souls Chapel. A two-manual Norman and Beard pipe organ, made in England in 1910, stands in a loft right of the chancel.
Herbert Baker designed this church in 1908 to replace an earlier corrugated iron structure, completing it in 1910 during South Africa's mining boom. Its construction reflects the period when European communities were establishing permanent religious buildings in the region.
The All Souls Chapel was dedicated as the War Memorial Shrine in August 1918, before the First World War ended, and later became a memorial to all subsequent conflicts involving South African troops. The parish has maintained an active choral tradition since its founding and is affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music; in 1975 the choir had thirty-two boys, twelve men and twelve ladies.
The church seats about four hundred people across nave, side chapels and chancel, so allow time to walk the whole interior. The Norman-style stone walls and early 20th-century stained glass are best seen in daylight. The crypt chapel and columbarium lie beneath the chancel, and the organ loft sits to the right of the chancel facing the high altar.
South African artist Cecil Skotnes created an icon of the Mother and Child displayed above the altar in the Lady Chapel, representing an important work in the country's art history. This piece often goes unnoticed by visitors who do not specifically look for it.
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