New look for old St. George‘s in 2019

Rehabilitation work to the St. George’s Cathedral is expected to be completed in the new year.

The Church holds historic significance and was once labelled the world’s tallest wooden building. The Cathedral was constructed under the Anglican Diocese of Guyana in 1899.

However, over time, the 121 year-old wooden edifice began to deteriorate—several broken windows, rotted wood on numerous parts of the building become apparent.

Last year, with the assistance of the National Trust and other donors, the Anglican Diocese embarked on rehabilitation project to restore the Cathedral to its former glory.

The rehabilitation which is estimated at over USD $2M, commenced about a year ago. A source close to the project had revealed that the work included replacement of boards and stain glass windows on several parts of the building.

Some repairs were slated to take place on the roof. A visit to the heritage site, this past week revealed that a significant portion of the repairs has been completed.

Although church officials were unavailable for a comment, this newspaper had learnt that work to the cathedral is likely to wrap up in 2019.

“We are now awaiting some windows which had to be sourced from overseas, “a worker attached to the cathedral confirmed noting the church is making preparation for its annual New Year’s Eve service.

“The construction will not hinder the service at all. Most of the work is being done outside and at present, the construction workers are awaiting the glass windows that have to be imported to be fitted in some of the windows.”

The worker noted that the repairs are being largely financed through fund-raising activities and through donations from local and overseas parishioners /donors.

Over the past year, Republic Bank, Iwokrama International Centre and its joint venture partner, the local firm of Farfan and Mendes Ltd, have been contributing to the restoration of the iconic St. George’s Cathedral, located on Company Path, in the heart of Georgetown.,

The restoration work was initially estimated at a cost of $61 million, with the National Trust of Guyana (NTG) contributing $13 million. This cost included the concessionary pricing for the wood, which is being harvested from the Iwokrama Forest, Guyana’s only internationally certified forestry concession.