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St. Leonard's ChurchThe original St. Leonard's Church was consecrated on 4th February, 1854 and was considered a fine example of church architecture on the island of Barbados. It has been described as a beautiful city church with all the pretentious details that you would find on a typical church in the northern suburbs of London. This beautiful church with its high pitched roof, off centred bell tower and the beautifully appointed lead windows was completely razed to the ground by fire in 1982.
Today as you drive along Westbury Road in the parish of St. Michael, in a westerly direction, coming from Barbados' famous Baxter's Road Fish fry area, you will discover the new St. Leonard's Church looming in the distance to your right, just opposite the Westbury Primary School.
This new church is quite unique in its appearance and simply does not resemble any other church on the island of Barbados. The church has an atypical, almost octagonal appearance - in fact, the only clue that might alert you to the fact that this building is in indeed a church, is the rather quaint historic looking cemetery that completely surrounds the structure. This new St. Leonard's Church building was completed and dedicated on 24th August, 1985.
St. Leonard's cemetery is actually quite unique here in Barbados as it contains quite a few examples of remarkable funereal statuary. As you explore this vast ancient burial ground you will discover quite a few marble cherubs, many of which have unfortunately been broken or damaged in some way; but what is most striking, especially in the eastern section of the graveyard, are the many imposing cast iron columns and other monuments marking the graves of many prominent Barbadians and expatriate residents. These cast iron pieces, though unique, are now quite rusted and in a terrible state of decay. Despite their current appearance however, they still present an impressive image of what this churchyard must have been like back in the early days.
The epitaphs on these tombs and graves provide an impressive history lesson on early life in colonial Barbados. St. Leonard's Anglican Church sits on an impressive seven acres of Church owned land and can boast of being the largest, most modern and accessible church building in Barbados. St. Leonard's Anglican Church is certainly worth a visit the next time you are in the area.
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