On a picture-perfect setting, Holy Trinity Church (Trinity Church Rd., off Harrington Sound Rd. or North Shore Rd.) also happens to be historically important. The current building, or at least part of the nave, dates back to 1660–1670, but historians believe there was an even earlier stone structure on the site that bore a palmetto-thatch roof. Regardless, Holy Trinity is one of the oldest church buildings in the Western Hemisphere, having survived hurricanes, storm damage, and numerous alterations and additions over the centuries.

Perhaps the church’s most notable feature is its array of 28 stained-glass windows, most of them English and installed since the 1890s. Five of these were designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, a noted pre-Raphaelite artist who designed for the William Morris Company. Experts have declared the quintet the best collection of his work anywhere in the world. Holy Trinity’s furnishings are also impressive, including its mahogany pulpit, the 200-year-old Bevington-built organ, and a bronze baptismal font made in the 1970s by a resident sculptor (the original 1840s stone font can be seen in the churchyard).

Holy Trinity Church’s silver collection is valuable, with the oldest piece, a handsome tankard, dedicated to “the church of Hambleton Tribe, 1677.” Outside, wander through the churchyard with its roses and royal palms, and view gravestones bearing the names of this parish’s hallmark families and seafarers—Outerbridge, Trott, Vesey—many of whose descendents still live in the area. The church is open on Saturdays while it is being cleaned and on Sundays during services, but contact the parsonage (tel. 441/293-5366 or 441/293-1710) if you would like to arrange a visit at another time.