Journey to St.Davids

The early colonization of Bermuda began in the east on Smith’s Island, just north of St. David’s Island, which would later have its own settlement as more colonists arrived from England. St. David’s Island got its name from the patron saint of Wales, who lived in the 6th century. It is worth mentioning that the St. David’s Islander’s, although they have a strong sense of nationhood, consider themselves St. David’s Islanders first as opposed to being part of the St.George’s , the parish in which St. David’s Island is a part. When asked where they are from, they will say St. David’s. You will not hear a St. David’s Islander claim to reside in St. George’s. In other parts of the island, people claim the parish they live in as their place of residence – not St. David’s Islanders.

St. David’s Island was originally 503 acres of land, which, after land reclamation by 1942, the land mass was increased by 247 acres. The new 750 acres of land was part of the new Fort Bell which was commissioned by the US military as part of its lend-lease programme under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II. It was Roosevelt who declared that setting up of a military base in Bermuda was “the most important event in United States defense since [Thomas] Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase in 1803.” (Rosemary Jones – Bermuda Five Centuries). The commission of a military base at St. David’s Island was a necessary investment for America as F.D.R. declared , “If Bermuda fell into the wrong hands, it would be a matter of less than three hours for hostile bombers to reach our shores.” (Rosemary Jones).

Much of St. David’s Island for 54 years (the military withdrew in 1995) was lost to the US military. By 1995, ownership was restored to Bermuda and what was felt by the St. David’s Islanders as a loss of their legacy was returned to them. Many of the roads that had US military names have been renamed. The area occupied by the base has now returned to its pre 1942 name – Southside. The site now boasts many local businesses and a medical centre – The Lambe Foggo Urgent Care Centre, which opened April 2009 is a welcomed addition to the people of the entire parish of St. George’s as it is recognised that during a hurricane, should the causeway (bridge that connects St. George’s to the rest of Bermuda) be destroyed, they would be cut off from medical emergency care. Prior to its opening, The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in Paget, near the city of Hamilton was the only medical care facility on the island.

Many St. David’s Islanders now feel a sense of wholeness and closure with the return of the land. St. David’s Islanders are a unique people. Many are descendants of the Pequot Indians who were brought to the island as slaves along with African slaves from the West Indies. Many of the people who reside there resemble their Pequot brothers and sisters in the United States. This strong sense of community goes back as far as the settlement of St. David’s Island when one had to stay put for the most part, or use a row boat to get to any of the other islands making up Bermuda’s archipelago. The community was close knit. Many were born there and died there, from generation to generation.

Visitors to St. David’s Island will encounter a bit of old Bermuda on St. David’s Island:

• Carter House (on the former US Military base) – named after a survivor of the shipwrecked Sea Venture – the wreck that began the story of Britain’s claim of Bermuda, was built around 1720. The US Military agreed to preserve the house, as opposed to tearing it down to construct the military base in 1942. It was used as a beauty parlor until 1955. It is now the St. David’s Historical Society Museum.

• Settler’s Cottage – which used 17th Century building technique , Bermuda cedar, clay and mortar for construction.

• Great Head Battery Park – is a military fort which was in use until 1957, armed with nine 2-inch loading guns, the largest ever installed in Bermuda and two 6-inch breech loading guns. The 2-inch loading guns had a range of seven miles and were the only guns to protect the island from coastal invasion.

Clearwater Beach and Park

• St. David’s Chapel of Ease – as St. David’s is a boating and fishing community, it comes as no surprise that this church takes its role of the blessing of boats, seriously, a practice that goes back as far as the mid-19th century.

• St. David’s Lighthouse – located on Lighthouse Road at Mount Hill, this lighthouse overlooks the South Shore of St. David’s and has been in existence since 1879. Its construction was to eliminate efforts by pirates and privateers of luring ships onto rocks reefs and stealing their cargo. The St. David’s Lighthouse is the smaller of the island’s two lighthouses, with the larger being Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse in Southampton.