St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town

Saint George’s Cathedral on Wale Street is renowned for two things: the first is its beautiful stained glass windows; the second is that even after 120 years, it still isn’t finished!

The cathedral was designed on the site of a former church by Sir Henry Baker in 1901. Building started in 1906, but due to a lack of funds, the North Transept wasn’t finished until 1936. By this time Sir Henry had returned to England, where he died ten years later.

Work dragged on slowly over the years. The Lady Chapel and the south aisle were completed in 1963, the Bell Tower and the Link in 1978. The cathedral is still waiting for the Chapter House to be added onto the end of the Link.

In 1982 the French stained-glass artist Gabriel Loire donated the magnificent window entitled “Christ in Triumph over Darkness and Evil” to the cathedral. This masterpiece is dedicated to the memory of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy of India. The beautiful rose window is in the South Transept and in the Link is a window dating back to 1866 of the Last Supper.

In the cathedral gardens, you can walk the Labyrinth and buy souvenirs in the Cathedral Book and Bric-à-Brac Shop opposite the church. This great shop not only sells religious books but also cookbooks, children’s stories, and fiction. You can browse through the CDs or old records, pictures and paintings, antiques and occasionally small items of furniture.

Tip:
Be sure to visit the crypt and the beautiful wooden homage to Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the entrance leading to the Company Garden.