St James Parish Church

The English landed at what is now Holetown in 1627 and put up a wooden church almost immediately; the stone building that replaced it dates in part from 1660, which makes this the oldest church site on the island. Two things in it are worth the stop: a bell of 1696 inscribed to King William the Third, which predates the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia by half a century, and the original baptismal font of 1684. The north porch survives from the seventeenth-century building. Holetown around it has a monument marking the landing and a festival each February to commemorate it.

What's there

• The 1696 bell - older than the Liberty Bell, inscribed to William III.
• The 1684 font - the original baptismal font, still in place.
• The seventeenth-century porch - surviving fabric from the earlier building.
• The Holetown monument - marking the 1627 landing nearby.

When to go

Year-round; the church keeps normal hours and closes during services. The Holetown Festival in February commemorates the landing and fills the town. It takes half an hour.

Before you go

It is a small parish church and the visit is short. Most of the building is nineteenth century after hurricane damage. There is little interpretation. Holetown itself is now a shopping and restaurant strip on the west coast rather than a historic town.

Nearby

Holetown's beaches are a short walk; Bridgetown is twenty minutes south.