Located along a roundabout on North Road in Lacytown, Georgetown, is the most impressive building called St. George’s Cathedral. This edifice is considered one of Guyana’s most prestigious built wonders.
Origin
The St. George’s Cathedral at Night
The history of the Anglican Church in Guyana can be traced as far back as 1781, when the Reverend William Baggs, Chaplain to Sir George Rodney, came to Guyana.
However, his stay was short-lived and it was not until 1796 when the cathedral was established that the impact of Anglicanism was felt. This was when Reverend Francis MacMahon began holding services in a room on the ground floor of a building that was on the site of the present Parliament Building.
Services were held in a small court room in the Court of Policy building. This was before the church’s membership outgrew the small room in 1805. As a result of the appeals by Reverend Williams Gibbs and Lieutenant-Governor Robert Nicholson the first chapel was built on the site of the present cathedral. Yet, overtime, the membership outgrew this structure. Given this, two plots of land were donated including the land where St George’s School now stands. This church soon became too small for its increasing membership.
The Chapel was used for worship from 1810, and by June 1, 1811, it was completed. In 1839 the foundation stone for a larger church was laid and the small church was relocated at St. Matthew’s Parish, East Bank Demerara.
Several years later, the structure was extended, and plans began once again for a new church. However, since there were faulty foundations, it was found to be unsafe due to structural defects. And so, the new brick structure had to be demolished. A second church was completed in 1842 but, as the Archdeacon Jones later stated, it “began its existence with a broken back.” The clay-brick building was a structural disaster and was dismantled in 1877.
For the third attempt, the renowned English architect Arthur Blomfield was called upon to draw up the plans, initially for a stone building with a central tower and two western towers. The committee in charge of the new church argued against the use of stone, This was both because of its expense and its weight. Instead, they emphasized that “woods of the country and no others were to be used.”
So Blomfield kept largely to his original plans, including the central tower and his use of the Gothic style of architecture. But instead of stone, he built most of the church using greenheart wood from Guyana. Greenheart is one of the stiffest woods in the world, highly durable, rot resistant and resistant to most insect attacks. Despite its wooden structure, the new St. George’s was built to last.
Moreover, the current cathedral is considered the fourth building to be built by the church and is considered one of the tallest wooden churches in the Caribbean. While work started on the cathedral in 1888, the foundation stone was laid in 1889. By 1892, the church, though incomplete was opened for worship. On November 08, 1894, the fourth St. George’s Cathedral was consecrated by Bishop William Proctor Swaby.
Features
The St. George cathedral is a white painted and gothic style structure with a Latin cross formation of nave and septs . It was built at a height of 143-feet with a native hardwood called green heart as mentioned before. Apart from that,the interior include pointed arches, flying buttresses and vaulted ceilings.
The St. George’s Cathedral serves as a magnificent example of architectural heritage and was even named a national monument among the many monuments in existence.
The beautifully carved Bishop’s Throne was given by Mrs. Manget in commemoration of the Bishop’s Jubilee. The Diocese of Barbados gifted the brass lectern, shaped in the form of an eagle. From the Howell-Jones family, proprietors of the Houston Sugar Estate, came the iron pulpit. Chinese Christians donated the sedilia, and other benefactors provided the great east windows and other stained glass windows. Queen Victoria also showed her appreciation for the cathedral, donating the large chandelier that still hangs prominently in St. George’s.
Apart from its notable wooden construction, St. George’s Cathedral is an important and much-loved landmark in the Guyanese capital of Georgetown for two reasons. One such is that most locals would agree that it’s the most impressive building in the capital, and anyone with an eye for history can see how the cathedral is a window into Guyana’s colonial past.
Article References
- http://nationaltrust.gov.gy/st-georges-cathedral/
- https://www.guyanatimesinternational.com/st-georges-cathedral/
- https://www.lonelyplanet.com/guyana/georgetown/attractions/st-georges-cathedral/a/poi-sig/436732/363440
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-georges-cathedral
1 Comment