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St. Swithun's ChurchVery little information is available on St. Swithun's Anglican Church which is located along Highway 1B on the way to NorthPoint Lighthouse on the island of Barbados. It is situated on Church Hill in the village of Greenidges, in the parish of St. Lucy. St. Swithun's was originally constructed as a Chapel School and at the time it measured a mere eight hundred square feet (800 sq. ft.). The construction of the additional wings accounted for a further five hundred and twelve square feet (512 sq. ft.).
The cornerstone for this Barbadian chapel school was laid by the bishop responsible for the construction of the chapel schools and the Chapels of Ease on the island of Barbados at this time. Bishop William Hart Coleridge laid this cornerstone on September 13th, 1837. The consecration of this chapel was however conducted by Bishop Thomas Parry in 1844 since by this time Bishop Coleridge had already resigned and returned to England.
A new aisle was added to the St. Swithun's Chapel in 1913 with the cornerstone being laid by the wife of the then bishop, William Proctor Swaby, who was bishop of Barbados for the period 1900 - 1917. Bishop Swaby died just a few days after he was elected as Archbishop. Swaby's body is interred under the choir stalls of the Cathedral of St. Michael’s and All Angels in Barbados' capital city of Bridgetown.
This little country church stands proudly in this small St. Lucy community and welcomes all visitors to come and worship with its regular congregation or just to browse or explore its simply kept grounds and the environs of this close knit rural community on the lovely island of Barbados.
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