St. George's Cathedral, Georgetown
| St. George's Cathedral | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | Georgetown |
| Country | Guyana |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | www.stgeorges.org.gy |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 8 November 1894 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Arthur Blomfield |
| Years built | 1889-1894 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Guyana |
| Province | Church in the Province of the West Indies |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Cornell Jerome Moss |
| Dean | Terry Davis |
St. George's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Georgetown, Guyana and is one of the tallest wooden churches in the world, at a height of 43.5 metres (143 ft). It is the seat of the Bishop of Guyana.
St. George's was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and opened on 24 August 1892. The building was completed in 1899. It is located on Church Street in Georgetown, and has been designated a National Monument.
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 that the impact of Anglicanism was felt, 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 Buildings.
The first church dates back to 1810 and was erected on the site that now houses St. George's School. This church soon became too small for its increasing membership. 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.
The second church was completed in 1842 and became the first cathedral, as a Bishop (William Piercy Austin) was consecrated and the Diocese of Guiana created on 24 August 1842. However, because of a fault in the structure of the building, it began cracking in several places and soon became unsuitable for habitation. It was subsequently dismantled.
In 1877, a temporary Pro-Cathedral was erected in the grounds of the Deanery at a cost of G$10,000. Arthur Blomfield then produced the first plans for the new cathedral - for a building in stone with a central tower and two western towers; but these were rejected because of the weight and the expense. His subsequent plans for a wooden cathedral were accepted, a design that kept many of the salient features of his first plan, such as the central tower and the Latin cross formation of nave and transepts. It was in the Gothic style of architecture, complete with flying buttresses, but it also had a tropical flavour, ensuring light and air. However, it was to be in timber and the committee emphasised that "woods of the country and no others were to be used," although in fact pitchpine was imported from North America for the ceiling.
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