The Cathedral of St George the Martyr stands at the bottom of Parliament Street in Cape Town and was erected to provide a place of worship for English settlers of the Anglican denomination in the City. Construction on the Cathedral started in 1901 and has carried on ever since. The Cathedral is however still incomplete!
St George's Cathedral is the Oldest Anglican Cathedral in Southern Africa and is the Mother Church of the Diocese. The Gothic Church is a classic cruciform Building, with a courtyard Garden which includes a Labyrinth. The Administrative Offices of the Cathedral are Housed in cloisters facing the Courtyard. The original St George's Church had been built in the style of St Pancras Church in London, featuring six stone Pillars whose places are marked today by Oak Trees on the Cathedral steps. It opened at Christmas 1834, and was made a Cathedral in 1847, in anticipation of the arrival of the first Anglican Bishop in Africa, Robert Gray. However, he didn't like it. Both Bishop Gray and his successor William West Jones wished for a grander Cathedral, but neither lived to see it being Built. The Current Building was designed by the famous Architect, Sir Herbert Baker.
The Foundation Stone was laid in 1901, by the future King George V and can be seen from the bottom of the Avenue leading into the Company's Garden. Construction did not begin until 1906, however, starting at the Eastern End, and the completion of the North Transept in 1936, finally brought Herbert Baker's design to life. In 1963, the Lady Chapel and South Aisle were completed, and in 1978 the Bell Tower and the Link were Built. The Cathedral remains a work-in-progress, however, as there was intended to be a Chapter House attached to the end of the Link.
The cross standing outside the Cathedral, comes from the first St George's Church, Built in 1836 and demolished in 1954.
