Dear Editor,
I am writing to voice my concerns regarding the 19th century Chateau Margot Chimney and its historic site, where once a thriving sugar factory stood.
Everything in relation to this sugar factory was demolished or fell into decay – except for its solitary chimney.
This is one of our very few built heritage pieces that has survived. Built with strong red bricks by a local artisan, it rises tall and stark against the blue sky, towering over a large, green tract of pasture, choked here and there with tall grass, weeds and bush. It has been in this state for decades…. a testament to the endurance and resilience of those who once broke their backs, cutting and loading the punts in the nearby canals.
In 2008 the National Trust of Guyana (NTG) claimed, in keeping with its mandate to preserve and promote our historic monuments and sites, that it had ‘’cleared the environs of the chimney, making it easily accessible to visitors’’. (Source: National Trust of Guyana, Vol 7, Issue 1, April 2008” –in article from the Guyana Times, Nov 9, 2012.)
But this ‘clearing’ seems to happen at rare intervals – neglected and largely forgotten by the NTG, and its landlord, (a former parliamentarian of the then ruling PNC, who had acquired large tracts of land at Chateau Margot sometime in the 80s.)
Except for last year, 2018. It was a pleasant surprise when, in a matter of days, enthusiastic workers, using heavy-duty equipment rapidly cleared and spruced up more than half of the chimney site, in time for the Dharmic Sabha‘s much anticipated Divali motorcade. But soon after that one magical night when the gods and goddesses descended in their illuminated chariots on Chateau Margot, the Chimney site once more reverted to its old overgrown greenery.
A few weeks ago residents walking past the Chimney site saw, to their dismay, neatly lettered sign boards attached to both gates of the enclosed area. One read “NADIA GARDENS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT INC, Chateau Margot ‘’. The name of the administrator is given and his phone numbers. And the other, on the locked gate leading directly to the Chimney proclaims ‘’Private Property, Trespassers will be prosecuted. No animals allowed. Animals will be impounded as per law WARNING: THIS COMPOUND IS SPRAYED WITH POISONS. They are dangerous to animals. For information call the Administrator ‘’….
Where is the National Trust of Guyana? Or the Ministries/Departments/relevant authorities of Culture/Social Cohesion/Tourism? How can a National Monument and its historic site be up for sale for a housing project, or any other project that will destroy yet another piece of our heritage? Could the relevant authorities please investigate this urgently and save this famous landmark and its surrounding site.
Two photos of the gates with signs are attached.
Thank you for your urgent consideration.
Yours faithfully,
Bernadette Persaud
