Barbados: St John’s Parish Church
St Johns Parish Church is one of the oldest churches in Barbados founded in 1645 as a wooden structure and then rebuilt out of stone at a cost of 110,000 pounds of sugar at the time. The location is spectacular – on a high clifftop on the east coast with panoramic views over the sea below. The location has its drawbacks as well – the church was nearly destroyed four times as the hurricanes slammed into the Barbados east coast. The church is one of the major historic attractions on the island, as is the graveyard with centuries-old tombstones and graves. The church is also known for its elaborately carved pulpit which contains six different woods; ebony, locust, Barbados mahogany, manchineel, oak, and pine – the first four are indigenous to Barbados.
