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St. Paul's Anglican ChurchSt. Paul's Anglican Church is located along the south western coast of the island of Barbados in the parish of St. Michael. This church was first built in 1830, just one year before the great hurricane struck the island.
This church was literally built by the bishop of Barbados at the time, William Hart Coleridge, who purchased three plots of land along Bay Street, out of his own funds and proceeded to construct the church. Incidentally, Bishop Coleridge was the clergyman who spearheaded the massive church building programme which saw the construction of the ten Anglican chapels of Ease and chapel schools on the island. St. Paul's church must have had a special place in Bishop Coleridge's heart, for him to have taken such a personal interest it its construction.
The cornerstone for the church was laid by Governor Sir James Lyon on April, 23rd in 1830 and St. Paul’s church was completed by January, 1831. This turned out to be quite unfortunate, as the church was completely destroyed by the hurricane that devastated the island on August 11th, 1831, just seven months later.
This disaster however, did not deter Bishop Coleridge, as plans were soon afoot to rebuild the church; and by October, 1833 the new church was complete. This church however, was a simpler version of the original church. Nonetheless the St. Paul's Church was rebuilt and by 1849 the chancel was added. St. Paul's Chapel was notably, the chapel of choice for the majority of British settlers in Barbados at the time.
Since the major devastation of 1831, the church has been largely spared any other severe damage and has over the years undergone a series of renovations, both to the interior and the exterior of the church. However, a large section of the roof did collapse in 1998 and it was decided then, that extensive repairs and renovations needed to be carried out. Through various loans and donations from lending agencies and the almost eight hundred strong congregation, the repairs and upgrades were made. St. Paul's church was subsequently rededicated on July 10th, 1999 by the then bishop of Barbados, Rufus Broome.
This new and rather less imposing structure at least when compared to the original church, is over one hundred and seventy eight years old and is definitely one of the places to venture on your sojourn around this beautiful island of Barbados. This old sanctuary, like many of the churches on the island, has an attached cemetery which contains many tombs, some dating back over two hundred years. This might then be an ideal place to explore the interesting history of Barbados that lies within the walls of the St. Paul's Anglican Church.
The Gothic Revival Style of this typical Barbadian church belies its tropical location; the pointed arched windows, the steep gabled roofs and the stout buttresses seem to suggest a location in the British Isles but I think visitors to the church would soon dismiss that notion once they turn to the west and peer though the gates of this church.
St. Paul's Church, also known as the 'Chapel in the Bay', sits right in the middle of the scenic Bay Street in Barbados and boasts some spectacular views of the calm waters of the Caribbean Sea along the popular Barbadian beach known as Browne's Beach. St. Paul's Church is also sited just a stone's throw away from the Official Offices of the Prime Minister of Barbados, the historic Carlisle Bay and the beautiful Bay Street Esplanade which occupies one of the wonderful 'windows to the Sea' along Barbados' south western coast. The magnificent views from this old church are indeed postcard material and could entice any visitor to sit a spell and commune with the serene surroundings of this remarkable place.
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