Saint John Figtree is one of five administrative parishes which make up the small Caribbean island of
Nevis
Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...
. These five parishes are part of the fourteen
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
that exist within the Federation of
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...
, a two-island country in the
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...
,
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...
, West Indies.
Description
The parish capital of Saint John Figtree is the settlement known as Church Ground. The parish church, Fig Tree Church, is notable for being the location where the registration of the marriage between young Nevisian plantation family widow
Frances Nisbet
Frances "Fanny" Nelson, Viscountess Nelson, Duchess of Bronte ( Frances Herbert Woolward, formerly Nisbet; (1758 4 May 1831)) was the wife of Horatio Nelson, the British naval officer who won several victories over the French during the Fre ...
and
Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
was carried out, in 1787, when Nelson was still a young
sea captain
A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...
.
The village of Bath is at the northwestern end of this parish, just south of Charlestown. Nearby is the Bath Hotel, which is now government offices, but which was originally (in 1778) the first tourist hotel and spa in the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
. Also nearby is Government House.
Stoney Grove Estate, a former plantation, is located here.
This parish is unique in St Kitts and St Nevis in that it is the only parish that does not allow women to serve on its parish council.
Other villages within the parish are: Brown Hill, Prospect, Pembroke, Fig Tree, Brown Pasture, Cole Hill, Beach Road, and Pond Hill. The Nevis Botanical Garden is more or less centrally located in the parish, as is the hotel, Montpelier Plantation Inn.
In the southernmost part of the parish is the Nevis deep-water port. Most of the coastline of this parish consists of small cliffs and coves with small beaches, many of which are not easily accessible from the land.
References
*ORDNANCE SURVEY, GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, 1984, Nevis, with part of St. Christopher (Saint Kitts). Series E803 (D.O.S. 343), Sheet NEVIS, Edition 5 O.S.D. 1984. Reprinted in 1995, published by the Government of the United Kingdom (Ordnance Survey) for the Government of Saint Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis.
*ROBINSON, DAVID & JENNIFER LOWERY (Editors), 2000. The natural history of the island of Nevis.
Nevis Historical and Conservation Society
The Nevis Historical and Conservation Society is a nonprofit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in the Caribbean island of Nevis, founded in 1980 to protect the cultural and natural heritage of the island.
Mission and funding
The Societ ...
Press, Ithaca, New York.
*HUBBARD, VINCENT K., 2002. Swords, ships, and sugar: a history of Nevis, Premiere Editions, Corvallis, Oregon. 5th Edition.
{{Authority control
Parishes of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Nevis