Discover Piggotts: Football and the History of St. Mark’s

Piggotts offers two distinct historical points of interest: home matches played by Antigua and Barbuda’s national team in international football qualifiers, and the history of St. Mark’s. The ABFA Technical Center anchors the sporting connection in the town. Today’s St. Mark’s Church and the foundation of its historic predecessor point to an architectural history. If you’re looking for a holiday rental, you can consider which of these themes gives your trip more definition.

Football with a specific connection to the town

The ABFA Technical Center in Piggotts has hosted home matches played by Antigua and Barbuda’s national team in international football qualifiers. For football fans, the connection between the team, competition and place offers a clear point of interest. It’s about home matches in international qualifiers, and therefore more than a general interest in the sport. This theme can feature in your travel plans alongside local history, without making your entire stay revolve around a single activity.

St. Mark’s and the transformation of a building

Today’s St. Mark’s Church replaced the historic building, of which only the foundation remains. It lies south of the present-day building. This means that both the current structure and the surviving remains of its predecessor are part of the history of St. Mark’s. The foundation’s location adds a specific sense of place to the sequence of events.

On 14 June 1861, the bishop consecrated a building for worship and burials, but not for Holy Communion. At the time, the area was called St. Mark’s Village. The purpose of the consecration and the area’s former name offer two different historical points of interest: one concerns a building, the other the name of the area. Together with the later architectural changes, they form a layered local history.

If you plan to visit the places mentioned, please check current visitor access in advance.

Choose your accommodation to match your travel interests

These themes can help you decide where to stay when looking for a holiday rental. Are you mainly interested in Piggotts’ connection to football qualifiers and St. Mark’s, or would you also like to consider other topics in the wider destination of Saint George? This keeps your booking decision focused on the destination you actually have in mind.

In the wider destination of Saint George

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, St. George, is the national stadium of Antigua and Barbuda and opened in 2007. It was built for cricket and has developed into a venue for events. Unlike Piggotts’ connection to football, the focus here is on a separate sporting and event venue in the wider destination of Saint George. The distinction helps you keep the two topics separate when planning your trip.

The history of the wider destination of Saint George also includes a notable transformation: the last remaining ruins of Millar’s Buff House were demolished in 2008 during the airport expansion. This differs from the history of the foundation in Piggotts: a remnant of the former building remains there, while the last ruins of Buff House were demolished.

If you’d like to combine local history with regional topics, keep Piggotts and Saint George in mind as separate points of reference. This can help you decide whether Piggotts’ specific history or the broader perspective on Saint George should determine your choice of holiday rental.

Discover more destinations: Five Islands Village, Saint Johnʼs, Potters Village, Saint Johnston Village, Buckleys, Dickenson Bay.

Go to the overview of the wider destination: St John.