GUIANA GOTHIC
SPEAKING at the launch of a church restoration appeal, the Archbishop of Can- terbury recently remarked how 'we attach too little importance today to the signifi- cance of buildings and of sacred organisa- tions.' These were welcome words from the primate of a Church of England which all too often regards buildings as, at best, so much ecclesiastical 'plant' to be adapted according to fashion or, at worst, a super- fluous encumbrance. The Archbishop's words apply to far too many places in Britain, deprived of a church as a symbol of the enduring presence of religion, but they were, in fact, concerned with a build- ing across the other side of the Atlantic which also happens to be the largest wooden church in the world. Apart from those who have visited what used to be British Guiana, St George's Cathedral, Georgetown, will be known only to the possessors of a rare and recondite book by the late Revd B. F. L. Clarke, Anglican Cathedrals outside the British Isles, that poignant survey of the strange and diverse architectural legacy of Empire around the world. St. George's is the third church; the first was built in 1809. Sir Arthur Blom- field, son of Bishop Blomfield, sent out designs for a fine new cathedral which proved to be impracticable. What was built in 1889-92, is a naive Gothic structure of great charm and made of the local Greenheart hardwood. It now needs a new roof and other repairs whose cost is beyond local means. Contributions may be sent to the St George's Appeal at the Priest's House, Puddington, South Wirral L64 5SS.
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