ST. GEORGE’S CATHEDRAL. 
By Rey. E. Stoman, M.A. 
The history of English Cathedrals is a summary of English history 
and with many of them the fabric represents in stone the formation of 
the British nation, the simple primitive briton, the stubborn Anglo-Saxon, 
the strong-willed Norman, the virile Dane, the gradual fusing of all these 
nationalities in early English and Gothic. One ‘century did not demolish 
what their predecessors had built but merely added to it in their own 
style. And so we see Norman, early English and the various develop- 
ments of Gothic architecture in the same buildings. And some of them 
were built in most unlikely places and on most unsuitable sites. 
Winchester Cathedral, for instance, was built on a peat bog and over 
£100,000 has lately been spent in squirting liquid cement into the peat 
bog and thus converting it into a solid foundation. Doubtless it was 
built there because at all costs the monks built their monasteries near 
rivers and so of necessity in low-lying places. And thus we see that 
from foundation to completion many hundred years elapsed, each century 
adding something to meet growing needs and even now, as in the ease of 
Winchester Cathedral, probably more money has been spent on it in this 
generation than in any previous generation. 
And in tracing the history of St. George's Cathedral, as it now 
stands, we shall find that since the colony became English, each genera- 
tion has accepted the burden of providing for its own needs and thus 
paving the way for the erection of the present building, which, we hope, 
will serve not only the present but several future generations. 1 propose 
then shortly to narrative the history of St. George’s Cathedral. 
Almost immediately after the cession of this colony to England we 
read that the Rev. F. MeMahon, Garrison Chaplain, was in the habit of 
conducting service in the Court House, Stabroek, about 1807 and on 
June 8, 1808, the Rev. W. G. Straghan held a meeting with the object of 
building an English Church in Georgetown and land was given for this 
purpose by R. “B. Daly, Esy., and the heirs of Joseph Bera The 
building was commenced in 1811 and completed in 1812.  [t held about 
300 and stood on the spot where St. George's school now stands. The 
system of concurrent Endowment seems to have been in force as early 
as 1820, when the English Church received f 5,000, and the Scotch and 
Dutch f 3,800 each. On May 1, 1824, two English clergymen arrived, 
the Rey. J. Lugar, the first rector of St. George’s, and Rey. B. F. Nurse. 
In 1826 the Counties of Demerara and Essequibo were divided into 
Parishes and it appears that Parishes were constituted as English or 
Scotch by the vote of the principal inhabitants. Thus we see that early 
as 1826 there was a Parish of St. George and a rector paid by Govern- 
ment. In the same year Bishop Coleridge was appointed Bishop of 
