Bermuda: Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity - Hamilton, Bermuda

Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity

Hamilton, Bermuda

N 32° 17.663 W 064° 47.020

Short Description: 

The Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity is an Anglican cathedral located on Church Street in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Long Description:

The Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity replaces the original structure designed James Cranston that was destroyed by fire in 1884. On 1885, architect William Hay was chosen to design the current Gothic Revival structure. He partnered with George Henderson who then designed the eastern portion of the church.

The church was constructed 1886 and 1905 from Bermuda limestone and trimmed with stone from Caen, France. Since Bermuda is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom it is the state church of England in Bermuda. Anglican Church of Bermuda is an diocese under the Archbishop of Canterbury. Nicholas Dill has been the Bishop of Bermuda since 2013.

The stamp was part of a set of 18 definitive stamps issued from 1962 to 1965 each showing a scene from Bermuda.

Bermuda: Town Hall - St. George, Bermuda

Town Hall

St. George, Bermuda

N 32° 22.870 W 064° 40.603

Short Description: 

The Town Hall of St. George in St. George's Parish, Bermuda is located on the east side of King's Square.

Long Description:

The Town Hall in St. George, Bermuda was originally constructed in 1782. The building is constructed with Bermuda cedar for the interior, ceiling and floor. A flagstone from Berne Manor, Dorset, England the hometown of the founder of St. George, Sir George Somers, is laid at the entrance way of the town hall. A large coat-of-arms of the town decorated the front of the building. A portrait gallery contains the images of notable persons in the history of St. George, past and present.

A plaque by the flagstone is inscribed:

THE CENTRE FLAGSTONE IN THIS

ENTRANCEWAY IS FROM BERNE

MANOR, DORSET, ENGLAND

THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 

HOME OF SIR GEORGE SOMERS

THE FOUNDER PF BERMUDA,

SIR GEORGE WAS SHIPWRECKED 

HERE IN 1690 AND DIED ON

ST. GEORGE'S ISLAND IN 1610.

(LAID IN NOVEMBER 1998)

The building open to public from 10 a.m to 4 p.m, Monday through Saturday.

Bermuda: City Hall - Hamilton, Bermuda

City Hall

Hamilton, Bermuda

N 32° 17.677 W 064° 47.123

Short Description: 

The City Hall is located at 17 Church Street, Hamilton, Pembroke Parish, Bermuda.

Long Description:

The Hamilton City Hall building doubles as the home of the Bermuda Arts Center. In 1933, Miss Catherine Tucker bequeathed a large sum of money to build of a new City Hall in memory of her father, George Somers Tucker. World War II started before construction could begin. In 1958 construction of the the building began under the direction of architect Wil Onions. His design for City Hall was based on the traditional Bermuda cottage. The City Hall was officially opened on the February 11, 1960.

The building has some very interesting features. The central tower as a weather vane on the roof which is a replica of the ship the H.M.S. Sea Venture, sailed by Sir George Somers the first settler of Bermuda. The dial on the tower gives the wind direction. The building design includes a large coat of arms of Hamilton on the west end of the front of the building.


A dedication stone incorporated into the structure is inscribed:

THE CITY HALL

1958

THIS STONE IS LAID IN MEMORY OF

GEORGE SOMERS TUCKER 1816 - 1890

ONETIME MEMBER OF THE CORPORATION OF HAMILTON

AND SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

FATHER OF

CATHERINE BROWN TUCKER 1847 - 1933

WHO BEQUEATHED A SUBSTANTIAL SUM

TOWARDS THE ERECTION OF THIS BUILDING

The stamp was part of a set of 18 definitive stamps issued from 1962 to 1965 each showing a scene from Bermuda.

Bermuda: Sarah (Sally) Bassett - Hamilton, Bermuda

(The Legend of) Sarah (Sally) Bassett

Hamilton, Bermuda

N 32° 17.571 W 064° 46.907

Short Description: 

A statue Sarah (Sally) Bassett, the first slave to be memoralized in Bermuda, is located on the grounds of the Cabinet Building near Parliament Street in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Long Description:

An 7' tall statue depicts the execution of Sally Bassett. Her death as made her into a folk hero in Bermuda. A barefoot Sarah Bassett is wearing a loose blouse and paints as she is tied to a stake with her hands behind her back. A pile of kindling lies at her feet and she is looking up towards the sky.

The statue stands in the center of a 7' diameter two-step concrete base. The statue was created by Bermuda sculptor Carlos Dowling and, after considerable controversy, was finally dedicated on the west grounds of the Cabinet Building in Hamilton, Bermuda, on February 9, 2009.

Bermudiana

The lower step of the base of the statue is divided into six segments. Taken together they tell the story of Sarah Bassett and the legend she leaves behind. The segments are inscribed:

SARAH (SALLY) BASSETT

SARAH (SALLY) BASSETT WAS AN ENSLAVED WOMAN

OWNED BY THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS DICKINSON OF SOUTHAMPTON

ON JUNE 1, 1730, SHE WAS TRIED ON THE "SUSPICION OF

POISONING SEVERAL PERSONS" INCLUDING THE MARINER

THOMAS FORESTER (WHO OWNED SALLY'S GRANDDAUGHTER BECK).

HIS WIFE SARAH FOR, AND NANCEY, A HOUSEHOLD BONDSWOMAN.

SALLY WAS CHARGED WITH SUPPLYING BECK WITH THE

POISON THAT NANCEY DISCOVERED IN THE WALL OF THE 

KITCHEN OUTLET. ALTHOUGH SALLY MAINTAINED HER

INNOCENCE, STATING THAT SHE "NEVER DESERVED" THE

SENTENCE GIVEN, SHE WAS BURNED AT THE STAKE FOR THE OFFENCE.

LOCAL LORE HOLDS THAT IT WAS EXTREMELY HOT WHEN

SALLY WAS EXECUTED; AND EVEN NOW, BERMUDIANS MAY

REFER TO A SCORCHINGLY HOT DAY AS "A REAL SALLY BASSETT DAY".

AT THE TIME OF HER SENTENCING, SALLY WAS VALUED AT

ONE POUND, FOUR SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE. ANOTHER LOCAL

LEGEND SAYS THAT BERMUDA'S NATIONAL FLOWER, THE

BERMUDIANA, GREW FROM SALLY'S ASHES.

The pair of bronze plaques on upper step of the base of the statue are inscribed:

THE AFRICAN DIASPORA HERITAGE TRAIL - BERMUDA

officially Designated a UNESCO Slave Route Project

OFFICIALLY OPENED

9 FEBRUARY 2009

BY THE HONOURABLE PREMIER

DR. THE HON. EWART F. BROWN, JP, MP

Bermuda: Dunking Chair Reenactment - St. George, Bermuda

Dunking Chair Reenactment

St. George, Bermuda

N 32° 22.846 W 064° 40.602

Short Description: 

The reenactment of the dunking chair is performed for tourist at King's Square in St. George, Bermuda

Long Description:

The dunking chair was brought to Bermuda by English colonist who first landed on the islands in 1609. It was reserved for woman whose actions caused a breach of the peace in the community.

Unpaid actors in period costume demonstrate daily the use of the dunking chair, for tourists, at the harbor by King's Square in St, George while hundreds of people gathered around to watch. During my first visit in 2010, it was the mayor of St. George who officiated at the dunking. Dressed in elaborate blue and red brocaded robes, he orchestrated the event. On his orders, a chair at the end of a long lever bearing the sentenced woman, was lowered into the warm blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The woman was sentenced to being dunked in the chair for the crime of gossiping.

Bermuda: Perot Post Office - Hamilton, Bermuda

Perot Post Office

Hamilton, Bermuda

N 32° 17.564 W 064° 47.164

Short Description: 

Perot Post Office is named after Bermuda's first Postmaster General, William B. Perot, creator of Bermuda's first postage stamp.

Long Description:

William B. Perot was an unofficial post man for several years. He would meet the ships in the harbor to deliver letters. In 1848 he began to produce his own postage stamps. Three of these postmaster provisionals are catalogued (X1, X2 and X3). Only 11 copies are known to exist today, making each one extremely desirable and valuable to collectors. The catalog value of these stamps range from $125,000 to $175,000.

Because of Perot, Bermuda became only the second British colony, after Mauritius, to have its own postage stamps. He would hand stamp every outgoing piece of mail. A friend, J.B. Heyl, suggested that instead of stamping every piece mail, he create stamps, sign the stamps and sells the sheet of stamps for a shilling. People could then tear off a stamp from the sheet and use it for postage.

On the south end of the historic Perot Post Office, a bronze plaque commemoration the issuing of the first Bermuda postage stamp is inscribed:

FROM THIS HOUSE

THE FIRST

BERMUDA 

POSTAGE 

STAMP

WAS ISSUED IN THE YEAR 1848

BY WILLIAM B. PEROT

POSTMASTER OF HAMILTON

The little post office is still very much the same as Perot kept it - neat and simply furnished. The building has been repaired and restored by the Bermuda Government. There is still an active branch post office operating out of this building.

Bermuda: Queen's View - Southampton Parish, Bermuda

Queen's View

Southampton Parish, Bermuda

N 32° 15.180 W 064° 50.070

Quick Description:

Queen Elizabeth II returns to Bermuda and revisits the view she made famous.

Long Description:

Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Bermuda on February 16, 1975 on the first leg of a Caribbean and Mexican tour. During her stay she returned to the spot, now called Queen’s View beneath Gibbs House Lighthouse, where she had stopped to admire the view over the Great Sound during her 1953 visit following her coronation. This event is depicted on Bermuda - Scott #347.

This is indeed a pretty view looking north across the Grand Sound to beyond King's Wharf. The target here would be a picture of the view, since it would be highly unlikely that the Queen would also be present when you visit this spot.

A viewing platform  has a medallion with the profile of Queen Elizabeth II and a plaque which is inscribed:

"QUEEN'S VIEW"

ON THIS SPOT HER MAJESTY

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

PAUSED FOR A WHILE TO ADMIRE

THE VIEW

WEDNESDAY THE 24TH NOVEMBER 1993

The stamp was issued by Bermuda in 1977 to Commemorate the 25th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.