A mezzanine has slipped into the old hall at Durban Girls’ College since the “then” picture was taken some time before the Centenary Hall was built in 1977.
The stained glass window in the back window came to the school in 1961 and was consecrated on Founder’s Day two years later, in memory of old girl Mabel James and her husband Charles, a benefactor and former chairman of the board of governors.
It had previously been at Overport House, the residence of Durban pioneer William Hartley who made his fortune from a cargo of peppercorns which had washed up on the Durban beach.
With his new-found wealth, he bought the stained glass window, which had come from a 15th Century abbey in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It arrived in Durban on board the sailing ship Pomeran in 1868.
When Overport House was demolished, the chairman of the board, Gordon Noyce, proposed that the window be acquired in memory of Mabel James, who died in 1961.
The hall was last used in 1976 and its upper part now serves as the school’s library while the staff room occupies the downstairs section.
Established in 1877, Durban Girls’ College is a private school for girls from Grade 00 to Grade 12, with weekly boarding from Grade 7.
The Independent on Saturday