The North Transept

The dominating feature of the North Transept is the Great North Window dedicated to the saints and pioneers of the Church in Africa. Nine metres high and nearly seven metres across, it is the largest stained glass window in the southern hemisphere. The uppermost lights are taken up by the arms of the diocese of the Province. The top half of the main glass shows, from left to right:

St Augustine of Hippo
St Monica, his mother
St Mark, reportedly first Bishop of the Christian church in Alexandria
Our Lord learning to walk in Egypt
St Athanasius of Egypt
St Catherine of Alexandria
St Cyprian of Carthage.

Below are more modern heroes and pioneers of the continent, from right to left: Charles Frederick, Bishop of Zambesi and first missionary bishop of the Anglican Church in a thousand years; Angela Burdett-Coutts, who endowed the See of Cape Town (above is master mason Neil Black); Bernard Mizeki, confirmed in Cape Town and first African martyr of the Anglican Church; Sophy Gray, wife of the first Bishop of Cape Town.

The Pulpit is from the old cathedral and was presented in memory of the wreck of the mailship RMS Drummond Castle, which foundered off Ushant on 16 June 1896. Altogether 251 lives were lost. The carved pulpit is dedicated to Charles James Stephens and his wife, two of those who died in the disaster. He was a churchwarden of the cathedral. The pulpit was made in England of carved oak; the planks of wood are set flush, like the sides of a wooden ship. The carved figures depict St James, Jesus and St John. It was moved to the new cathedral in January 1914.

 
 

 
Another item of interest near the North Door is the sculpture The African Madonna by Underwood.

 
 

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