St Boniface Church, Germiston

St Boniface Church is the mother church of the Anglican parish of Germiston, Gauteng which also includes the chapelries of St Mary and St John in Lambton, and St Mark in Rosedeep. The parish is part of the Diocese of the Highveld, which is in turn part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (previously known as The Church of the Province of Southern Africa).Foundation and establishmentThe Anglican Parish of Germiston was formally founded in 1897. Prior to the parish being formally established, it was a mission chapelry of the parish of Boksburg, which had been established in 1890. Baptismal, confirmation and marriage records show that mission work existed prior to 1890, going back to the founding of Germiston in 1886. At that time the work of the mission priests fell under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Pretoria. Originally the parish consisted solely of the Parish Church of St Boniface in what is now the inner city of Germiston. The present church building is the second on the site, designed in 1908 and then built in 1910, both by Sir Herbert Baker. The original church was a tin building with a concrete and stone foundation, very similar in style to the miners' dwellings of the late 19th century and early 20th century period, as was found on the East Rand and the Witwatersrand in general.