Our History
A mission, a school,
a people.
Lesseyton is one of the oldest Methodist mission stations in the Eastern Cape. Its story runs through the great questions of South African history — land, education, faith and freedom — and it is still being written by the congregation today.
The beginning
A Wesleyan mission among the abaThembu
In 1847 the Rev. Johannes Petrus Bertram of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society established a mission at Lesseyton, some ten kilometres north of what would become Queenstown (today Komani), among the abaThembu people. The station combined a place of worship with education and training — a pattern that would shape Lesseyton for the next century.
Under Sir George Grey’s programme for industrial training centres in the Cape Colony (1854–1859), Lesseyton became one of five Methodist industrial institutions in the Eastern Cape, alongside Healdtown, Salem, Peddie and Kamastone. The institution opened in 1857 with twenty students, on glebe land of some 400 acres within a much larger grant of church land.
Timeline
Milestones at Lesseyton
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1847
Rev. Johannes Petrus Bertram founds the Lesseyton mission of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society among the abaThembu, north of the Komani River.
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1857
The Lesseyton institution opens with twenty students as one of the earliest industrial training centres established under Sir George Grey’s education programme.
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1883
A theological training school is established at Lesseyton, forming ministers for the growing Methodist church — among them the Rev. Zaccheus Richard Mahabane, later twice president of the ANC, and the Rev. Dr E. J. Mqoboli.
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1900s
Lesseyton continues as a centre of schooling and ministry in the district, its students carrying its influence across the Eastern Cape and beyond.
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Today
Lesseyton is joined with the Queenstown circuit in Mlungisi to form the Queenstown and Lesseyton Circuit 302 of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, under the Kumkani Hintsa District — one circuit carrying the mission’s story forward while the historic buildings are restored.
“Lesseyton played a significant role in South African education in the Eastern Cape… and education for ministry within the Methodist Church.”Prof. Graham A. Duncan, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 2018
Sons and daughters of Lesseyton
The theological school at Lesseyton formed some of the notable figures of South African church and public life. Rev. Zaccheus Mahabane went on to serve twice as president-general of the African National Congress; Rev. Dr E. J. Mqoboli became one of the honoured forefathers of Methodist ministry in this country.
Their journeys began in the same valley where the congregation still gathers today.
Today
One circuit, two communities
Nearly 180 years after Rev. Bertram’s founding, Lesseyton’s story continues in partnership. The church is connected with the Queenstown circuit in Mlungisi, and together they form the Queenstown and Lesseyton Circuit 302 of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, under the Kumkani Hintsa District.
Across the two communities, the circuit carries a shared inheritance: the worship, education and service that began on this mission ground in 1847. While the historic buildings at Lesseyton are being restored, the life of the circuit continues — and visitors are welcome to walk the grounds on a guided tour.
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MCSA Queenstown & Lesseyton 302 — services, announcements and circuit life across Queenstown and Lesseyton.
The historical account on this page draws on published research, including Graham A. Duncan’s “Lesseyton: A Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society Experiment in African Industrial and Theological Education” (2018). The congregation welcomes corrections, photographs and family recollections — share yours with us.