View source for Parishes of Barbados

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{{Politics of Barbados}}
The country of [[Barbados]] is divided into sub-regions known as [[Parish (administrative division)|parishes]].

==Terminology==
They are legally styled as the "Parish of (''parish name'')" as opposed to the [[United States|American]] naming convention with "Parish" coming after the name.<ref>''Laws of Barbados'', Volume 2, p.573, 286.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barbadosbcassoc.com/Default.asp?Page=5 |title=Fear and panic as Barbados regularisation deadline loom. |website=Barbados Cultural Association of British Columbia – History of Barbados |last= U-Ming |first=Mike |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612205323/http://www.barbadosbcassoc.com/Default.asp?Page=5 |archive-date=June 12, 2009}}</ref> The use of the term "parish" derives from the island's religious [[Anglican]] history under the [[Church of England]].

==History==
The system of parish churches was originally based on the system of the Church of England and was the visible expression forming the basis of the parliamentary representation in Barbados. The differing size and shape of each parish were primarily influenced by the large plantation estates of [[cotton]], [[sugar cane]] and [[tobacco]] that existed during the [[Colonialism|colonial]] years of Barbados. As various [[chapels of ease]] were created during the 17th century across the island, some local churches were elevated to [[Church of England parish church|parish church]] status, leading to the formation of new parishes surrounding those freshly created vestries.

By 1629, the [[England|English]] settlers after landing at [[Holetown|James Town]] formed six original parishes on the island which were:<ref name="Barbados Parliament website">{{cite web |title=The Barbados Parliament – Parliament History |publisher=Barbados Parliament website |url=http://www.barbadosparliament.com/history.php |access-date=2007-05-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523083154/http://www.barbadosparliament.com/history.php |archive-date=May 23, 2007}}</ref>
*The Parish of [[Christ Church, Barbados|Christ Church]],
*The Parish of [[Saint James, Barbados|St. James]],
*The Parish of [[Saint Lucy, Barbados|St. Lucy]],
*The Parish of [[Saint Michael, Barbados|St. Michael]],
*The Parish of [[Saint Peter, Barbados|St. Peter]], and
*The Parish of [[Saint Thomas, Barbados|St. Thomas]]

By 1645, the land holding of Barbados increased and the shape of the original six was reconfigured giving way to an additional five parishes.<ref name="Barbados Parliament website"/> Some prior churches of the state within the existing parishes were elevated to the level of parish church and as a consequence they formed new parishes around those new [[vestries]]:
*The Parish of [[Saint Andrew, Barbados|St. Andrew]],
*The Parish of [[Saint George, Barbados|St. George]],
*The Parish of [[Saint John, Barbados|St. John]],
*The Parish of [[Saint Joseph, Barbados|St. Joseph]], and
*The Parish of [[Saint Philip, Barbados|St. Philip]].

Thus Barbados was converted into the current eleven parishes of today corresponding to the earlier church parishes. As was common under the British system, each parish had a single main [[Parish church|parishional church]] (or [[cathedral]] in the case of Bridgetown having been elevated to city status), which acted as a sort of capital for each parish.<ref name="A to Z">{{cite book |last1=Carrington |first1=Sean |last2=Fraser |first2=Henry |title=A~Z of Barbados Heritage |year=2007 |publisher=Macmillan Caribbean - Macmillan Publishers Limited Press |isbn=978-0-333-92068-8 |chapter=Vestry}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Alleyne |first=Warren |year=1978 |title=Historic Bridgetown |publisher=[[Barbados National Trust]] |location=Barbados}}</ref> The parishes each held their own local government councils until these were abolished in 1959, following a brief administrative [[Districts of Barbados|districting experiment]] within Barbados until 1967.<ref name="A to Z"/>

==List==
{{Map of Barbados}}
Within the country, travel is unrestricted to everyone in moving about from parish to parish. With increasing [[urban sprawl]] and new construction projects across the country many neighbourhoods and even parishional border-lines today are ill-defined.

The eleven parishes are:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Parishes of Barbados, with some details
!scope="col"| Short name
!scope="col"| Long name
!scope="col"| Land area
!scope="col"| Population<br />(census 2010)
!scope="col"| Density
!scope="col"| Historic [[vestry]]
|-
!scope="row"| [[Christ Church, Barbados|Christ Church]]
| The Parish of Christ Church<ref>''Laws of Barbados'', Volume 2, p.573</ref>
| {{convert|57|km2|abbr=on}}
| 54,336
| {{Pop density|54336|57|km2|prec=1}}
| [[File:Christchurchparishchurch.jpg|center|thumb|200px|Lead church of the parish]]
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint Andrew, Barbados|St. Andrew]]
| The Parish of Saint Andrew<ref name="Barbados p.586">''Laws of Barbados'', Volume 2, p.586</ref>
| {{convert|36|km2|abbr=on}}
| 5,139
| {{Pop density|5139|36|km2|prec=1}}
| [[File:Saint Andrew, Barbados 011.jpg|center|thumb|200px|Lead church of the parish]]
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint George, Barbados|St. George]]
| The Parish of Saint George
| {{convert|44|km2|abbr=on}}
| 19,767
| {{Pop density|19767|44|km2|prec=1}}
|
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint James, Barbados|St. James]]
| The Parish of Saint James<ref name="Barbados p.586"/>
| {{convert|31|km2|abbr=on}}
| 28,498
| {{Pop density|28498|31|km2|prec=1}}
|
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint John, Barbados|St. John]]
| The Parish of Saint John
| {{convert|34|km2|abbr=on}}
| 8,963
| {{Pop density|8963|34|km2|prec=1}}
| [[File:St John's Church Barbados.JPG|center|thumb|200px|Lead church of the parish]]
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint Joseph, Barbados|St. Joseph]]
| The Parish of Saint Joseph<ref name="Barbados p.586"/>
| {{convert|26|km2|abbr=on}}
| 6,620
| {{Pop density|6620|26|km2|prec=1}}
| [[File:Saint Joseph, Barbados 001.jpg|center|thumb|200px|Lead church of the parish]]
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint Lucy, Barbados|St. Lucy]]
| The Parish of Saint Lucy<ref name="Barbados p.586"/>
| {{convert|36|km2|abbr=on}}
| 9,758
| {{Pop density|9758|36|km2|prec=1}}
|
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint Michael, Barbados|St. Michael]]
| The Parish of Saint Michael<ref name="Barbados p.586"/>
| {{convert|39|km2|abbr=on}}
| 88,529
| {{Pop density|88529|39|km2|prec=1}}
|
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint Peter, Barbados|St. Peter]]
| The Parish of Saint Peter
| {{convert|34|km2|abbr=on}}
| 11,300
| {{Pop density|11300|34|km2|prec=1}}
| [[File:Speightstown 015.jpg|center|thumb|200px|Lead church of the parish]]
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint Philip, Barbados|St. Philip]]
| The Parish of Saint Philip<ref name="Barbados p.586"/>
| {{convert|60|km2|abbr=on}}
| 30,662
| {{Pop density|30662|60|km2|prec=1}}
|
|-
!scope="row"| [[Saint Thomas, Barbados|St. Thomas]]
| The Parish of Saint Thomas
| {{convert|34|km2|abbr=on}}
| 14,249
| {{Pop density|14249|34|km2|prec=1}}
|
|}

== See also ==
* [[Constituency Councils]]
* [[Geography of Barbados]]
* [[History of Barbados]]
* [[Transport in Barbados]]
** [[Barbadian vehicle registration plates]]
* [[ISO 3166-2:BB]]
* [[List of cities in Barbados]]
* [[List of West Indian first-level country subdivisions]]
* [[List of Caribbean islands by area]]
* [[List of Caribbean islands|List of Caribbean islands by political affiliation]]
* [[List of Caribbean island countries by population]]
* [[List of metropolitan areas in the West Indies]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=Laws of Barbados (Laws, statutes, etc. compilations) &ndash; 1875 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-YaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1 |access-date=3 January 2010 |volume=1 |year=1875 |orig-year=1875 |publisher=William Clowes and Sons |location=Stamford Street and Charing Cross, London |pages=586}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://www.totallybarbados.com/articles/about-barbados/parishes/ Barbados parishes]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151105151638/http://www.barstats.gov.bb/ Barbados Statistical Service] (BSS)
**[https://web.archive.org/web/20091029164951/http://www.barstats.gov.bb/ParishCanv.cfm Barbados Government census by Parish]

{{Barbados topics}}
{{Parishes of Barbados}}
{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of North American countries}}
{{Americas topic|Administrative divisions of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parishes Of Barbados}}
<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Parishes of Barbados| ]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of Barbados]]
[[Category:Lists of administrative divisions|Barbados, Parishes]]
[[Category:Administrative divisions in North America|Barbados 1]]
[[Category:First-level administrative divisions by country|Parishes, Barbados]]
[[Category:Barbados geography-related lists]]