One of the most popular landmarks that can’t be missed in Antigua is the St. John’s Cathedral. First built in 1681 it was a wooden structure that was destroyed by earthquake in 1745 and later again in 1746 and then rebuilt out of English bricks. The present cathedral with its imposing white twin towers was built on fossilized reef in 1845. The planters called the Cathedral ‘Big Church’ and that it frightened as a symbol of English power.
The Anglican Church catered more for the planter class, but the black people got more involved at about the time of the first world war and many were memoralized on the cathedral’s walls. The iron gates on the south face of the church are flanked by pillars displaying Biblical statues of St John the Devine and John The Baptist.
They were reportedly taken in 1756 from a French ship on its way to Martinique. The cathedral was designed by the architect Thomas Fuller who came from Bath in England. It has been named as the best cathedral in the West Indian Province. In 2008, it was reported that the church is in disrepair and that a renovation project has been proposed with work starting as soon as funds are allocated…
