The Parliament Building houses the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, and is located in the capital Georgetown. The building was designed by Joseph Hadfield, and is located in Brickdam where the

Court of Policy The Court of Policy was a legislative body in Dutch and British Guiana until 1928. For most of its existence it formed the Combined Court together with the six Financial Representatives. History The Court of Policy was established in 1732 by the ...

used to be. The building was completed on 21 February 1834. The Parliamentary Chamber contains a decorated ceiling designed by

Cesar Castellani Cesar Castellani (died 2 August 1905) was an architect. He was born in Malta. He was attracted by the prosperity of British Guiana and emigrated there in 1860 with a group of Italian priests. Designs Castellani designed a number of prominent build ...

History

The Parliament Building replaced the former building of the

. The building was built on a foundation of greenheart logs. The foundation stone was laid in 1829 and, on 21 February 1834, the structure,

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

ed to resemble stone blocks, was completed. After having been completed, the building was formally handed over to a committee of the Court of Policy on 5 August 1834. Those present were Joseph Hadfield, of the Hadfield family, after one of whom, John, Hadfield Street was named; and

George Booker George William Booker (December 5, 1821 – June 4, 1883) was a nineteenth-century American politician, farmer and lawyer from Henry County, Virginia who was a Unionist during the American Civil War, then served in various local offices du ...

, who represented J.D. Patterson, one of the three contractors, the other two being Roderick McKenzie and Hector Kemp. The architect was Joseph Hadfield. The building was constructed at a cost of 50,000 pounds using slave labour. In 1875

completed the installation of a sunken panelled ceiling of the Parliamentary Chamber in the eastern wing of the Parliament Building. The Chamber also features an elaborately carved teak Speaker's chair, an Independence gift from the Government of India; a table and three chairs for the Clerks, and a Sergeant-at-Arms chair (an Independence gift from the British House of Commons); paintings of

Arthur Chung Arthur Raymond Chung (10 January 1918 – 23 June 2008) was a Guyanese politician who served as the first president of Guyana from 17 March 1970 to 6 October 1980.

, Guyana's first ceremonial President (1970-1980) and of

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 of Guyana, Premier of British Guia ...

, Guyana's first executive President (1980-1985); and a gilded clock, depicting the rays of the sun, a gift from the Demerara Company Limited. The walls of the Parliament Chamber are paneled with mahogany. Floor length shuttered windows allow light and air to enter, and north-facing windows have small balconies. 1931 6cents BrGuiana Yv140

The Parliament Building is an excellent example of 19th-century

Renaissance Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

and is one of two domed buildings in Georgetown. Within its compound are two

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

that were used in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and a statue of

Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow OBE (18 December 1884 – 14 May 1958) is notable as the founder of the modern trade union movement in Guyana. Background Critchlow was born in Georgetown, Guyana. Little is known of his early childhood but in his l ...

, OBE (1884-1958) who is regarded as the father of

Trade Union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ism in Guyana. In 1998, the Parliament Library opened in the building. The ceiling suffered from the hot and humid climate, and was reconstructed between 2000 and 2005.

References

{{Buildings in Guyana Government buildings completed in 1834 1830s establishments in British Guiana Buildings and structures in Georgetown, Guyana Government buildings in Guyana Renaissance Revival architecture Legislative buildings Seats of national legislatures 1834 establishments in South America