St. George's Cathedral

I had a sleepless night due to the heavy rain and the storm raging outside. Mark slept like a log! 😊
Despite an iffy weather forecast, we headed out after breakfast to walk to the centre of downtown Cape Town. It only takes about 30 minutes, and we managed to get there in the dry. Once there, we retraced the steps we took with Sheldon last Monday as we wanted to take more photos and go into some of the places he’d recommended.

Our first stop was at St George’s Cathedral, where Desmond Tutu served as archbishop from 1986 to 1996. His ashes are interred in front of the high altar. We were hoping to see the memorial stone, but that area of the cathedral is out of bounds to visitors.

St George's Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in southern Africa. The original St George's Church was 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. LBoth Bishop Gray and his successor William West Jones wanted a grander cathedral, but neither lived to see it built.

The current building was designed by the famous architect Herbert Baker. The foundation stone was laid in 1901 by the future King George V, but construction did not begin until 1906. The main part of the cathedral was completed in 1936, the Lady Chapel was finished in 1963, and the Bell Tower was added as recently as 1978. The cathedral remains a work-in-progress, with plans to add a Chapter House.

The cathedral is in the gothic style and is a classic cruciform building, with a courtyard garden, which includes a labyrinth. There is some stunning stained glass within the building, as well as plaques to commemorate visits by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1995, and the then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in 2011. We were following in illustrious footsteps!Read more