St. John's Church & Sunbury Plantation House

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September 10th 2008

Published: September 10th 2008

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Ksue44

St. Johns Church

Day #2 - Sep 3rd.

Our next stop would be St. John's Church.

St. John's Parish Church is the first church of St. John that is presumed to have been a simple wooden building, but its date is unknown. The parish along with St. George, was carved out of St.Michael in 1640-1641. But successive churches were badly damaged by the hurricane of 1675, the Great Hurricane of 1780, and finally destroyed by the Great Barbados hurricane of 1831. The present church building (the fifth) was built is 1836, and the chancel added in 1876. It is the prototype of the restrained Barbadian version of the Gothic parish church, and a beautiful Westmacott sculpture, commemorating Elizabeth Pinder, on the left of the main door.

In the Church Yard rests the remains of Ferdinando Paleologus, a descendent of Emperor Constantine the Great, whose family was driven from the throne of Constantinople by the Turks. Ferdinando died in Barbados in 1678, after being a resident here for over 20 years.

It's a small church inside but very beautiful. When first entered through the door, to my right was an awesome staircase carved out of mahogany. As I walked down the

Inside of St Johns

aisle, there were 2 Turtle Doves sitting on top of one of the pews. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. As much as I wanted to take a picture of these Doves inside of the church, I decided against it. Perhaps it's divine intervention. The stained glass windows are also very beautiful.

Our final stop for the day would be Sunbury Plantation House, and there we would have a Bajan lunch!

The history behind Sunbury Plantation House goes back over 300 years. It was built around 1660 by Matthew Chapman, an Irish/English planter, one of the first settlers on the island. The house changed ownership several times during the years.

I was impressed with the antiques, especially the mahogany pieces.

Part of the property includes the cellars, originally used for storing yams and other root vegetables grown on the plantation, now house a unique collection of antique carriages, the largest collection in the Caribbean, as well as many items used in the domestic life of the plantation. It also houses the very old collection of optical machinery and sight testing equipment some of the first to come to the West Indies.

Noteworthy is how

Staircase

Very beautiful wood and craftsmanship!

well the house is constructed with walls that are approximately 2 feet 6 inches thick. Its sash windows are protected by jalousies on the outside and storm shutters on the inside. In the event of a hurricane, the whole house can be quickly closed up.

On the way back to my hotel, we passed Gordon's Lighthouse, which is located in south Barbados.

The lighthouse was erected in 1852. It was one of 3 cast iron lighthouses to ever be made, and perhaps one of the last in existence. This lighthouse was first exhibited and erected in May thru October of 1851 at the great Hyde Park exhibition in London. It was then taken apart and shipped to Barbados in parts and went into service on the 12th of April 1852. It was estimated that the cost at the time was 5,227 Pounds, as in English currency. It is 145 feet above sea level.

Last but not least to end the day, our dinner buffet was Bajan/Caribbean food. The meal included: curried beef stew, rice & peas, creole flying fish, pineapple coleslaw, and other good bites.

It's well worth the time and money to take an all