East Queen Street Baptist Church, East Queen Street

East Queen Street Baptist Church, located at 25 East Queen Street in Kingston, is owned by the Jamaica Baptist Union and is classified as a Priority 1 historic religious structure. The site includes a solid brick church building with a main entry portico and a galvanized hip roof. Its boundaries are marked by 2A Sutton Street to the north, East Queen Street to the south, 23 East Queen Street to the east, and 27 East Queen Street to the west.

Dedicated on January 22, 1822, East Queen Street Baptist Church is one of Kingston’s historic churches and among the oldest Baptist churches in Jamaica. At the time of its dedication, it had the largest Baptist membership in the world, with 2,937 members. The Baptist movement in Jamaica began in 1783 with George Lisle, a formerly enslaved African from North America, whose preaching opposed enslavement and drew resistance from the plantocracy. Because of this stance, many enslaved and formerly enslaved Africans were drawn to Baptist churches, and after emancipation many continued to worship at East Queen Street Baptist Church as an expression of their freedom. The church also contributed to education through its role in establishing the Gully School, now Calabar High School, and by hosting the Calabar Theological College after its transfer from Rio Bueno, Trelawny, as a teacher-training institution.