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 you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.