Clarens Heritage Association
Founded in 2024, the Clarens Heritage Association is a volunteer-driven organisation committed to protecting and promoting the heritage of Clarens and its surrounding areas — for the community today and those who come after.
Their work centres on raising public awareness about heritage conservation challenges, covering both physical landmarks and living cultural traditions. They actively engage with local and national conservation bodies to develop practical responses to these challenges.
Blue Plaques
The Heritage Association of South Africa runs a Blue Plaque programme — a circular marker that formally recognises places, buildings, or objects of historical, cultural, or architectural importance.
The Clarens Heritage Association has awarded three such plaques to date. The most recent, unveiled at the 2025 Clarens Arts Festival, went to the Methodist Church — a sandstone building at the corner of Roos and Bester Streets that has anchored village life for close to ninety years.
Other recognised sites include an early sandstone school built in 1914 on Main and Malherbe Streets, Frost House (date of construction unconfirmed, no original plans on record), and the Ou Kliphuis — a modest single-bedroom sandstone cottage, likely dating to around 1927, which probably served as temporary accommodation for farmers visiting for church and nagmaal.
For more information, contact them at info@clarensheritage.org