Closed

Main Aisle Foundations

Main Aisle Slabs

We have reached an important and significant milestone.  The aisles have not been paved but the metal decking and steel reinforcement are in place and the foundations are closed. 

Since we removed the pews, the pew flooring and the stone slabs in the aisle, the foundations of the Cathedral have been open for all to see.  We saw the air passages that ventilated the Cathedral, the rainwater drains that carried water to the cistern outside the building and the short limestone foundation walls.  And how surprised we were to see the simple, straight forward and somewhat shallow depth of the foundations.  All our lives we have heard one story tale after another about what lay in the bowels of the Cathedral.  Everything from dormant volcanoes to underground passages to other islands.  However we should note that what we were looking at had not been viewed in over 160 years.  This means that those who saw and knew what was under there had long died and those who did not were left to speculate and fantasize as to what it may be.  And we should not be surprised.  West Indian culture loves to speculate and fantasize.  Tie in a healthy fear of God and you have the makings of the great many yarns we have heard about the Cathedral.  However 160 years also means that means we witnessed something our parents, grand parents and even our great-grandparents had not seen.  God willing it will also mean that it is something that our children, grandchildren and even our great-grandchildren will also not see.  One wonders what yarns about the Cathedral they will spin then.

The construction of this Cathedral started in October 1845 and was completed in October 1847.  This Restoration began in October of 2010.  Let us pray that it will be an equally long time before these foundations are ever seen this way again.