Features

St. Catherine Parish Church - A true survivor

The cathedral of St. Jago de la Vega in Spanish Town, St. Catherine is the cathedral of the Anglican Church of Jamaica. - Andrew Smith

San Jago de la Vega - It was built by the Spanish; destroyed by Thomas Cromwell's marauding soldiers in 1655. Rebuilt on site in English glory in 1666, the Cathedral was brought down once more by a violent 1712 hurricane, only to stand again two years later and in 1843, securing the title as the Jamaican Diocese of the Anglican Church. The now St. Catherine Parish Church is a true representative, and survivor, of Spanish Town's diverse and violent past.

Built of brick in the shape of a cross, using a rich mixture of medieval Roman and Gothic styles; its tower is topped with a rare steeple. The church also bore witness to Spanish Town's cycle of life. It once housed the baptismal and marriage records within its marbled walls and is still decorated with centuries-old marble headstones to prominent colonists, such as former governor Sir Thomas Modyford, and dotted with memorials by famed sculptor, John Bacon, the creator of the Rodney Memorial.