St George’s Cathedral is seeking financial help for the rehabilitation of its building which has been in a state of serious disrepair for quite some time.
According to Dean of St George’s, Rev Terry Davis, funds for the restoration are being solicited from former members of the congregation in the diaspora, more especially those in England, the US and Canada; the local Anglican churches and major donor agencies.
When Stabroek News asked the Chief Executive officer of the National Trust Guyana (NTG), Nirvana Persaud, about possible assistance to the cathedral, she replied that the Trust has in the past supported it, granting one million dollars for repairs to the eastern wing in December 2012.
However, she continued, while the NTG would willingly support the cost of restoration if it could, and St George’s was one of nine monuments which had been gazetted for preservation, funding was a challenge for the Trust. Nevertheless, this newspaper understands that some limited repair work has already commenced with input from the NTG.
With reference to the grant from the National Trust in 2012, Davis explained that it was a far cry from what the cathedral needed in terms of its total repairs. However, “the grand work is being laid out as we speak to garner funds,” said the Dean, who was of the view that most of the donations would come from overseas donors. He said that fundraising would start with the local Anglican churches: “All churches will contribute to the mother church [St George’s Cathedral].”
Major works need to be done to the roof, the outer walls and the windows; the floors and pews will have to be polished; and the building repainted.
Davis made reference to the fact that St George’s is a national monument and therefore has to retain its original architecture. Since it is made of wood the replacement boards have to be of wood, and it is this that necessitates periodical repairs being conducted every few years. The cost of the complete rehabilitation, the Dean said, will be known when the engineer’s estimates become available.
Davis said that members of St George’s Cathedral are asking for public support in an effort to preserve the building. He expressed the view that whatever a person’s denomination or faith, they could still support the appeal because the cathedral was a national monument.
The last major repairs to the building were undertaken in 1997-98.
