Cathedral of St. Jago de la Vega, St. James Cathedral

Built in about 1525 on the site of the Spanish Chapel of the Red Cross, this Cathedral stands today as the oldest ecclesiastical structure in the British Empire (outside of the United Kingdom).

When the British conquered the Spanish in 1655, the English destroyed the existing cathedral, and built in its stead an Anglican church which was demolished by an earthquake in 1714.

In 1843, the Church was named the Cathedral of Anglican Diocese, in the honour of the patron saint – St. James. This cathedral is built in the form of a cross. Constructed in brick, it reflects a Romanesque and a Gothic architectural style. The aisles are dotted with the tombstones of many notables in Jamaican history.

Situated near to the House of Assembly and the Old King’s House, the St. James Cathedral is currently the chief church of the Anglican denomination in Jamaica and contains the earliest existing Anglican records some of which date back to 1668.

-Jamaica Information Service

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