Description of the attraction
The Parliament of Barbados is bicameral, formally consists of: Elizabeth II - Queen of Barbados represented by the Governor-General, appointed by the Senate (Upper House), and an elected Assembly (Lower House). Both missions sit in separate rooms in the Bridgetown Parliament Building.
The Parliament of Barbados is copied from the Legislature of England. Meetings of both parts - the House of Representatives and the Senate, as a rule, are held once a month, other meetings - as needed, and are broadcast live on the local radio station.
The Parliament of Barbados is the third oldest legislative assembly in America and one of the oldest in the Commonwealth of Nations. The first meeting of the Barbados Assembly was held in 1639. Originally held at home, the assemblies were held in Captain Henry Howlith's building on Mulhill Street, which was originally intended for his courts. By 1653, the congregations were moved to State House in the Chipside area of Bridgetown. In 1668, State House was destroyed by fire following an explosion in the Bridgetown War Journal.
Over the years, the Barbados Assemblies continued to take place in various locations, in taverns and merchant rented houses. In 1724 a law was passed providing for the provision of a building for the Council and assembly, courts and prisons. The building on Coleridge Street was completed in 1731-1732, but Parliament still met in various private homes and restaurants.
The current building of Parliament was built in the neo-Gothic style in the early 1870s on the site of the area destroyed after a great fire in 1860. The object is made in the style of the Victorian era, its main attraction is the clock tower, erected from local limestone, which, for technical reasons, was moved from the east wing to the west after 1885.
The parliament of Barbados in its current form first became operational after the 1961 general election. In 1963, due to the change in the status of Barbados within the British Empire, the Legislative Council of the colonial era was abolished, and in 1964 the Senate came to replace it. The parliament building is on the UNESCO cultural heritage list.
