|
St. Saviour's ChurchTraveling towards the north eastern side of the island of Barbados, to the parish of St. Andrew, you will be mesmerized by the lushness and tranquility of the place. The landscape is so picturesque; it is as though it has leapt straight from the pages of an exotic travel book.
The St. Saviour's Anglican Church is located in this striking locale amid the trees and hills and valleys, just a stone's throw away from the Scotland River, in the Scotland District of Barbados. This church however, was not the first to bear this name.
The original church was located a few hundred metres west of the current church’s position and this location was said to be rivaled only by St. John's Parish Church as “the most romantic setting of any church in Barbados".
Construction of the first St. Saviour's Church in Barbados began in 1846 but the church was not completed until 1857. It has been speculated that this church was the last of Bishop Coleridge’s Chapel’s of Ease which was started just before he retired in 1842. This church bore all of the characteristics of the previous Chapels of Ease on the island, including the stained glass windows and the bullseye window in the belfry.
This church was indeed the epitome of the quaint country church in Barbados even though Barbara Hill in her book Historic Churches of Barbados, notes that there was "nothing regular or exact about this building", and she even described the belfry as being "…almost primitive". Despite these less than flattering comments, it was thought that the quirkiness of the structure when combined with its enchanting locale really created a striking and almost storybook image of the building.
However that structure, over the years, sadly fell into a state of disrepair and in 1982 the church was vacated and a new church was constructed. This new church sits on the opposite side of what we Bajans (citizens of Barbados) refer to as a river (The Scotland River), but would better be described as a stream. The new church is quite modern in appearance and sits on a cleared lot at the bottom a steep hill. The location is still quite beautiful and tranquil with cashew trees growing wild along the hill which looms to the north of the church building.
The new St. Saviour's Church was consecrated and dedicated by the Bishop of Barbados at the time, Bishop Rufus Broome on October 16th, 1993. Additionally, the church now has an annex which serves as the Sunday school; this building was built between May 2006 and January 2008. The Sunday school building was dedicated by the current Bishop of Barbados, His Lordship the Rt. Rev. Dr. John W. D. Holder on June 17th, 2007.
This new church bears little of the charm and character of the old church building but for those who worship there it provides the sanctuary that is needed. When you leave this new church and you proceed along the road heading towards Bridgetown, you will come across an old coral stone wall with a tiny, rusted, blue sign that heralds the location of the original church and if you are the type to crave a little adventure you might want to explore the site, though it is heavily overgrown, to commune with the history that once was. In any case, the unspoiled beauty of the parish of St. Andrew in Barbados will definitely leave you yearning for more and once you are here, you are certainly welcomed to explore this beautiful island of Barbados that we call home.
ServicesSundays - 8:00 am
Contact Information
00-10
|
