Bermuda: Dockyard Gate - Royal Naval Dockyard, Sandys Parish

Dockyard Gate

Royal Naval Dockyard

Sandys Parish, Bermuda

N 32° 19.455 W 064° 50.131

Quick Description: 

The Dockyard Gate is located on Pender Road at the south entrance to the Royal Naval Dockyard in the west end of Bermuda.



Long Description:

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 dockyard buildings have been restored and converted for commercial use. The buildings, that once housed the administration offices for the British Royal Navy, are now home to the Clock Tower Shopping Mall which contains boutique shops, arts and crafts studios and restaurants. The fortress is home to the National Museum of Bermuda.

A sign on the fence adjacent to the gate give the history of the Dockyard Gate. it is inscribed:

THE DOCKYARD GATE

Completed in 1842

Constructed during the reign of

Queen Victoria, this gate was

originally the innermost in line of

defensive gates protecting the land

approach to the Dockyard. The 

outlying bastion defenses and outer

gates were removed between 1901

and 1907 when the South Yard was

constructed. Above each pedestrian 

gate is a plaque displaying the Royal

Coat-of-Arms and a stone on its inner 

face records its construction date.

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