Did You Know?

21 Chapter Two • St. Peter And did you know Speightstown was the site of Barbados’ only invasion? Not by a foreign force, but by the English! You see, after the English civil war, when Cromwell defeated King Charles the first, cut off his head and declared himself Lord Protector, many of the King’s supporters fled to Barbados, so they wouldn’t lose their heads … and they weren’t kow- towing to Cromwell… So the civil war came here. Cromwell despatched a Parliamentary force, to bring these rebels to heel. His forces, led by Colonel Ayscue and a local planter who supported Cromwell, Colonel Alleyne, landed on the beach at Speightstown in December 1651, and a pitched battle was fought. Alleyne was killed, but the invaders won the day. Speightstown was a whaling centre for a long time. And it supplied the people of the North with almost everything they needed, with six jetties along the Bay to handle the ships. Only one is there now, a new jetty, badly located so that high surf has badly damaged it. St. Lucy and St. Peter were almost a different country from the rest of Barbados. A trip to town on horseback or foot took hours. Modern motor transport caused a decline in business, as people could get to Bridgetown quickly. Speightstown almost went to sleep. Many ancient houses remain, and although many are threatened, there’s still much worth saving, as well as the splendid parish church of St. Peter. Several long abandoned 18th century buildings have recently been restored or are currently undergoing restoration. These include Galene (Greek for Empress of the Sea), once the telephone exchange and residence of the post mistress when my mother was postmistress in the 1930s. Of special importance is Arlington House, the best example of an old Single House, restored by the Barbados National Trust as a popular interactive Museum – it tells the best story of Speightstown. Over the last forty years the National Trust has proselytised almost continuously with governments and worked with architects and planners developing proposals for restoration of Speightstown’s buildings and street facades, but with little progress achieved. Fires and demolition have further depleted the stock of historic buildings, including the original Alexandria School building. I have conducted dramatic historic tours of Speightstown, with costumed actors playing the role of historic characters along the way. 1950’s Challenor Jetty and Skinner Jetty Courtesy Geoffrey Skeete