John Armstrong, the first
bishop of Grahamstown on his enthronement in 1854 committed himself and his
church to respond to the needs of the
Xhosa people suffering the impact of the wars of dispossession. This resulted in the establishment St Matthews Mission at Keiskammahoek (among others). Chief Socishe donated of land for the St Matthews Mission and
Sir George Grey, the colonial governor, approved the development. The school began to operate in 1856. The institutional link between St Matthews and
St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown began in the 1860s when students were sent from mission schools to what was known as the
Kaffir Institute that was part of St Andrews College, run by the Revd William Greenstock. Greenstock (who married Frances Ellen Cotterill, the daughter of
Henry Cotterill, the second bishop of Grahamstown) later moved to St Matthew's Mission and where he became a skilled linguist and writer of hymns in the
Xhosa language. The Revd H.B. Smith, the first resident missionary to St Matthews, worked closely with the military chaplain, the Revd George Dacre, to lay the foundations of the earliest buildings and build the water furrows that still supply water to the school. In the 1860s The Revd Charles Taberer moved to the school and began offering academic classes in the morning and engaging the pupils in industrial work in the afternoons. He oversaw the laying of the foundation stone of the church and opened a hostel for girls. ==Restoration==