The War Memorial Chapel at Bishops is one of the city's landmarks.  Canon Birt wanted a Chapel that would commemorate the fallen ODs of WWI as well as to seat the whole school in a single sitting, this was in 1926 and this is still the case today, 100 years later when every boy in the College and the Staff can be seated in a single sitting. 

The architecture for the building was Percy Walgate and the contractor was Joseph Rubbi.    

The Chapel at Bishops is enshrined in the daily life of students attending Bishops, Pre-Prep, Prep and College.  Four times per week all College students file through its doors and attend services or CP (Congregational Practice) - the singing is with gusto!

Next year will be when the Chapel turns 100.

The architect was Percy Walgate also known for his buildings at the University of Cape Town. Other buildings include St. Margaret's Church in Fish Hoek and the Stellenbosch Town Hall, for which he won a bronze medal in 1941.

He contributed to the work at St. Paul's Church and St. Michael's Church, Rondebosch. He also worked at Vergelegen where he designed the private wing, an extension of the estate, in the 1930s under Lady Phillips' ownership. 

Walgate was in association with HJ Brownlee as the city's architect around 1935 and collaborated with other notable architects of the era.  

Walgate was born in Beverley, Yorkshire, England, and was educated at Beverley Grammar School and worked as the chief assistant to Herbert Baker in London around 1913 before moving to South Africa where he came in 1920.  

He died at his home in Fish Hoek in 1972.

OD Geoff de Wet (1964O) recently gave a talk on the work of Walgate at Bishops, viz. the design of the War Memorial Chapel at Bishops.   It was fascinating to see an architectural historian explain the development and history around the Chapel.  

The above depiction of the Chapel comes from the December 1926 edition of the Diocesan College Magazine.

The following scans are from the Diocesan College Magazine, December 1926 and March 1926, respectively, and will appeal to anyone fascinated by the Chapel at Bishops and the meaning behind how it came to be.

A M G D

 For further information please contact ODComms@bishops.org.za

[Historical information used in this article was taken from the Internet site on 19 September 2025 https://artefacts.co.za/]