St James Parish Church, Holetown, St. James, Barbados
Posted by: 
Beagle-1
N 13° 11.450 W 059° 38.310
21P E 214006 N 1459742
Located in Holetown, St. James Parish Church stands on one of the oldest parcels of consecrated land on the Island, often known in Barbados as "God's acre".
Waymark Code: WM377E
Location: Barbados
Date Posted: 02/21/2008
Views: 26
The original wooden structure was built in 1628 near the landing site of the first English settlers to Barbados, who arrived on February 17, 1627. After a hurricane on August 31, 1675 which devastated most of the island, a stone structure replaced the former wooden building in the early 1690's.
Another violent hurricane struck in 1780 and according to 'Schomburgk's History of Barbados' only two churches and one chapel remained; St. Andrew, St. Peter and All Saints. There is no specific record of what happened to St. James in the storms of 1675 and 1780 but after the hurricane of 1831 St. James was not among the churches listed as having been destroyed. Schomburgk's states that in 1846 at the time of his writing this book, the building was 54' X 40' in size with a seating capacity of 550 and a congregation of approximately '360 souls'.
After nearly 200 years the walls of the original stone building began to decay and were partly demolished and replaced by a larger, more substantial structure in 1874. At this time, the nave roof was raised on new pillars and arches. The enlarged building was consecrated by Bishop Mitchinson on Easter Tuesday, 1875. Except for the sanctuary and north porch, added in 1900's, this is substantially the building still in use today.
Many of the original settlers and various noted Barbadians were laid to rest in the Church and its yard. The dates on the grave stones, vaults and memorial plaques reflect this history.
There is a popular legend attached to St. James' Church, that a gate in the north wall surrounding the churchyard, referred to as 'The Devil's Gate' is opened about one hour before service. When the bell is rung the Devil leaves the church by this gate, and it is closed as the service is about to begin, so that the Devil is excluded from the area. This must have been derived from the old belief that church bells were rung to drive the devil out of the building.
Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1690
Age of Church building determined by?: Church website
If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Anglican
If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday
Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 7:15 AM
Street address of Church:
Hwy 1
Holetown, St. James Barbados
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Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link]
Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed
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