St. George's (formally, the Town of St. George, or St. George's Town), located on the island and within the parish of the same names, settled in 1612, was the first permanent English settlement on the islands of Bermuda. It is often described as the third successful English settlement in the Americas, after St. John's, Newfoundland, and Jamestown, Virginia. In fact, although English fisherman had begun setting up seasonal camps in Newfoundland in the 16th Century, they were expressly forbidden from establishing permanent settlements, and the town of St. John's was not established until circa 1620. Jamestown, also, did not exist until 1619. Prior to that, its settlers were obliged to live within James Fort. St. George's, claimed to be the oldest continuously-inhabited English town in the New World, is also suggested to have been the first.
Originally called New London, St. George's was first settled in 1612. This was three years after the first English settlers landed on St. George's Island on their way to Virginia. Led by Admiral Sir George Somers and Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Gates, they had deliberately steered their ship, the Sea Venture, onto a reef. The survivors built two new ships, and most continued their voyage to Jamestown, but the Virginia Company laid claim to the island. A replica of one of the ships, the Deliverance, is on exposure on Ordonance Island. Ordnance Island in St. George's Harbour, is situated south of King's Square. It holds a replica of the Deliverance (one of the two ships built by the survivors of the Sea Venture), and a life-sized statue of Admiral of the Virginia Company, Sir George Somers, by Desmond Fountain. Somers, along with Sir Thomas Gates, had led the survivors of the 1609 wreck.
Two men remained behind to maintain the company's possession of the archipelago (a third stayed when the Patience returned later that year). By the Virginia Company's Third Charter in 1612, the boundaries of the new colony were extended out to sea to include Bermuda. The company sent a party of 60 new settlers to Bermuda to join the three men left behind by the Sea Venture. After a brief period on neighbouring St. David's, the settlers started building structures at St. George's, located in a sheltered sound that kept ships protected from bad weather.
In 1615, the shareholders of the Virginia Company created a second company, the Somers Isles Company. It administered Bermuda separately until the company was dissolved in 1686. (The Virginia Company was dissolved in 1624).
This small town was the capital of Bermuda until 1815; it was linked to the history of colonial America. Ten thousand Bermudians emigrated, primarily to Virginia and the American Southeast, before United States independence made them citizens of separate nations. Branches of wealthy Bermudian merchant families dominated trade in the area's ports. Bermudians settled towns in the South, and contributed greatly to the make up of the populations of several U.S. states.
As Bermuda's population centre, and only true port during this period, St. George's was connected to development in the North American colonies. During the American War of Independence, at the request of George Washington, Bermudians assisted the American rebels in stealing much-needed gunpowder from a St. George's magazine, which supplied the forts protecting the port. The powder was carried over the hill to Tobacco Bay, from where boats transported it to an American ship that lay offshore.
During the American Civil War, some British from St. George's evaded coastal blockades to provide supplies and munitions to the desperate Confederates. This trade was based in St. George's.
The town has numerous historical sites, such as the old State House from 1620. Other than fortifications, this was the first stone building in Bermuda, built to house the Parliament. It is the oldest building on the island. It was home of the first parliament (the oldest surviving parliament outside the British Island and Iceland) and first court, for over 150 years it was the storehouse for the Island's gunpowder supplies. Since 1816, it has been rented by the oldest Masonic Lodge for a yearly rent of one peppercorn, paid during a popular public ceremony each April.
The Tucker House was built in 1752 and contains historic furniture, paintings and archeological exhibits.
The Post Office is the site of the first gaol and Provost Marshal's House of the town built in 1622 and rebuilt in 1760. During the Revolutionary war it was used as a prison. American privateers were incarcerated here by Governor Bruere, who treated them as pirates instead of prisoners of war.
Town Hall is the meeting place of the Corporation of St.George. It contains Cedar furnishings and a collection of portraits of past mayors. It lies at King's Square which is the focal point of the town for hundreds of years.
St.Peter's - Their Majesties Chappell was visited by the Queen in 2012 on occasion of St. Peter's 400th anniversary.
It is the oldest Anglican Church in continious use outside the British Isles. It as also used as public meeting place and the first criminal court was held here in 1616, the first meeting of Parliament in 1620.
The original wooden church dating from 1612, was replaced by a stone structure in 1713, and extended in 1814. To the west of the church are the graves of many slaves and free Blacks.
Then I walk to the "Unfinished Church". The Victorian Gothic church was begun in 1874 and never finished.
It was intended to be a magnificent example of Victorian Gothic architecture to replace St.Peter's Church. The new church was beset by a series of problems - financial difficulties, a rift in the Anglican congregation and a damaging storm. The site is closed because stones may fall off.
A Hibiscus tree next to the Unfinished Church.
The White Hall is probably the largest house in town and was built in 1815 by John Van Norden while he was Major of St.George's. The verandah and stairs were added by a later major.
Finally the Hunter building.
From St.George's I walk over the hill to the St.Catherines fort...
(c) Dirk Frantzen 2013 — published via iPad
Position:St. George, Bermuda
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