Red House (also: Kamana Court) located in Kingston, Georgetown, was the

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the Colonial Secretary and later the Premier of British Guiana. As of 22 March 2000, it houses the

Cheddi Jagan Cheddi Berret Jagan (22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 199 ...

Research Centre.

History

The Red House is a wooden colonial building from the 19th century. In the early 20th century, the building was owned by Eustace Woolford, a former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. In 1925, the building was acquired by the government of British Guiana to serve as official residence of the Colonial Secretary. In 1961, the Red House became the official residence for

, the first Premier of British Guiana.

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1980 and then as its f ...

was elected in 1964 and changed the official residence to Castellani House. From 1964 onwards, the Red House was used by various governmental agencies. In 1972, the Non-Aligned Conference was held in Georgetown, and the Red House was renamed Kamana Court. The building was declared a national monument of Guyana.

Cheddi Jagan Research Centre

On 22 March 2000, the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre, a centre dedicated to the life and work of

, opened in the Red House. The centre is operated by friends and family of Jagan who had signed a 99-year lease on the building. On 29 December 2016, the lease was revoked by President

David A. Granger David Arthur Granger (born 15 July 1945) is a retired military officer who served as the 9th President of Guyana from May 2015 to August 2020. He served for a time as Commander of the Guyana Defence Force and subsequently as National Security A ...

who had planned to move the

National Trust of Guyana The National Trust of Guyana is a 1972 Guyanese conservation organisation to protect and conserve monuments of historic and national importance. Their main function is to preserve objects of national interest as well as managing their access by th ...

into the building. The centre took the matter to the courts who ruled on 16 August 2020 that Granger's revocation was illegal and unlawful, and that the centre could retain the lease.

References

External links

*
Cheddi Jagan Research Centre
{{Buildings in Guyana Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth National Monuments in Guyana Official residences in Guyana Buildings and structures in Georgetown, Guyana