Museum of Antigua and Barbuda
National museum in the 1750 court house, the oldest building in St John's.
The museum occupies the former St John's Court House, built of local stone in 1750 to a design attributed to Peter Harrison and generally held to be the oldest building in the town. The Court of Justice sat on the ground floor while the legislature met above. Earthquakes in 1843 and 1974 caused serious damage, and the shell stood empty until the Historical and Archaeological Society of Antigua and Barbuda restored it and opened the museum in 1985.
Displays on the main floor run from the geological formation of the islands and the Arawak and Carib settlement through the sugar plantations, the enslavement of Africans, emancipation and the road to independence in 1981. Excavated ceramics and stone tools sit alongside colonial domestic objects, a model plantation and a section on cricket that includes a bat used by Sir Vivian Richards. The upper floor holds a reference library of documents, maps and photographs used by researchers.
Highlights
- Set in the 1750 court house, the oldest building in St John's
- Arawak and Carib material from excavations across both islands
- Displays on sugar, the enslavement of Africans and independence in 1981
- Reference library of maps, photographs and documents on the upper floor
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