In 1959 the country of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

was changed from the

Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

system, into a more modern system of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

patterned after that of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Two main sub-regions known as

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

s were formed in Barbados, and the majority of the vestry parish councils, which acted as local government were consolidated and transferred into these larger areas and also the Bridgetown City Council. Both were simply known as the Northern and Southern districts, and a third separate area consisted of the City of Bridgetown. Each of these districts were run by

Chairmen The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

, and the city with a mayor affiliated with Barbados'

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

Northern District

The Northern District contained all parishes northwards of the parishes of Saint Michael, Saint George and Saint John. This included: *

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

* Saint James *

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia ( la, Sancta Lucia) better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ...

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

* Saint Thomas

Southern District

The Southern District contained all parishes to the south and east of Saint Michael, This included: * Christ Church *

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

* Saint John *

Saint Philip Saint Philip, São Filipe, or San Felipe may refer to: People * Saint Philip the Apostle * Saint Philip the Evangelist also known as Philip the Deacon * Saint Philip Neri * Saint Philip Benizi de Damiani also known as Saint Philip Benitius or Fili ...

City of Bridgetown

Besides the two districts, the greater Bridgetown area was devised into three city

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s. These were known simply as: *The City Ward *The Carlisle Ward *The Saint Michael Ward

Mayors

Mayors of Bridgetown included: * Ernest Deighton ("E.D.") Mottley, Esq. * Louis Lynch

Local government

*The North and South districts each had their own Council. These councils were maintained by a chairman, and was further supported by

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

and

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s. *The City of Bridgetown as outlined in the Local Government Act, (1958); was governed by a mayor, a deputy mayor, six aldermen (senior councillors), and twelve city councillors (four councillors went to each of the three wards.)

Disestablishment

In between 1967-1969, the process of local government was phased out. At this time all local matters became transferred to the national level, to the Interim Commissioner of Local Government. The District councils and mayors were removed and constituents in each parish from then on depended on their Parliamentary representative or national government corporation, department, or statutory agencies to carry out the provision of services across Barbados' eleven parishes.

Legacy

Although the districts have been abolished, the operational structure of the

Royal Barbados Police Force The Barbados Police Service (BPS), previously called the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), is the law enforcement agency in Barbados, as established under the Police Act, Cap. 167. Richard Boyce is currently Commissioner of the Police. The BP ...

still follows closely to the district system that was once in Barbados. Within the police force: *Saint Michael is covered by District A, *Both Christ Church and Saint George are covered by District B, *Both Saint Philip and Saint John are covered by District C, *Saint Thomas is covered by District D, *Saint Peter is covered by District E, *Saint Joseph is covered by District F. There are additional operations located in: Holetown, Saint James;

Belleplaine Belleplaine is a village in the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Andrew, Barbados, Saint Andrew in Barbados. It also holds the Alleyne Secondary School. Populated places in Barbados Saint Andrew, Barbados {{Barbados-geo-stub ...

, Saint Andrew; and Crab Hill, Saint Lucy.