Parliament & museums
Two worthwhile museums within Parliament
Standing proudly overlooking the careenage, Barbados’ Parliament is the one of the oldest in the Commonwealth, established in 1639, although it has only inhabited today’s coralstone Neo-Gothic parliament buildings since the 1870s.
Museum of Parliament
Inside the West Wing, there are two small single-room museums. First up is the interactive Museum of Parliament, which narrates the struggle for Independence from Britain.
National Heroes Gallery
In the next room, lies the more interesting – at least to the average foreign visitor – National Heroes Gallery. An informative short biography for each of the country’s ten national heroes (nine men and one woman) is supplemented by some eclectic memorabilia and a commissioned sculpture.
The “Father of Independence”, Sir Errol Barrow, for example, is represented as a colossus made out of engine parts. Cricketing legend Sir Garfield Sobers (the only living national hero) also features. As Barbados became a republic at the end of 2021, the Barbadian government named Rihanna as the latest national hero.
Both museums are currently being renovated and may reopen at the end of 2022.