Cathcart is a town situated at the intersection of the N6 National Route with the R345 and R351 Regional Routes in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
Cathcart is located approximately 49 km north-west of Stutterheim and 59.2 km south-east of Komani (formerly known as Queenstown) along the N6 National Route.
The town was named after Sir George Cathcart, governor of the Cape Colony (1852–1853).
Cathcart falls within the Amahlathi Local Municipality and the Amathole District Municipality.
The town of Cathcart is home to the Church of Saint Alban in the Eastern Cape Province.
The town of Cathcart is home to St. Alban’s Anglican Church, built in 1886. This church is situated on the road to Aliwal North (officially renamed Maletswai) and is a well-known landmark in Cathcart. It has an unusual and distinctive Western façade.
History
Originally a small military post established during the Eighth Frontier War, Cathcart was established as a village in 1858 when German colonists arrived in the region.
The village was formally laid out in 1858, and it consisted of only one inhabited dwelling. It only gained more settlers in the year 1876. It was named after the governor of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope in 1852-1853, Sir George Cathcart.
Work on its railway connection to East London on the coast was begun by the Cape government of John Molteno in 1876, and the line was officially opened on 3 November 1879. The Cathcart Shrine was the first built shrine in Africa, and it was blessed in 1949.
