Friday, November 21, 2014

Bermuda: Victualling Yard Gateway - Royal Naval Dockyard, Sandys Parish

Victualling Yard Gateway
Royal Naval Dockyard
Sandys Parish, Bermuda


N 32° 19.631 W 064° 50.052



Quick Description: 

The Gateway to the Victualling Yard of the Royal Naval Dockyard is located on the west of of the walled compound and east of Dockyard Terrace in the west end of Bermuda.

Long Description:

Under Queen Elizabeth I, a Surveyor General of the Victuals was appointed to oversee contracts for food and other provisions for the Royal Navy. At dockyards throughout the British Empire the Victualling Board built breweries to supply beer, slaughterhouses to provide salted meat, and mills to create flour for the bakeries to produce biscuits for the ships under the quality control of the Board. These various facilities were consolidated into Victualling Yards.

The Royal Naval Dockyard was built in 1809 on the west end of Bermuda. Due to the fact that Bermuda is surrounded by reefs, it is the only location in Bermuda that is accessible to large cruise ships. At one time it was the largest British naval base outside the United Kingdom. It provided a vital strategic defense for British interests in the western Atlantic Ocean from the War of 1812 until after the Second World War. The area is defended by a fortress once known as the "Gibraltar of the West.”

Today the the area around the Victualling Yard of the Royal Naval Dockyard the Bermuda houses the Bermuda Craft Market and the Bermuda Arts Center.

The stamp is part of a set of six stamps issued by Bermuda in 2004 showing views of the Royal Naval Dockyard.

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