Bermuda’s Architectural Heritage: Southampton

Bermuda’s Architectural Heritage: Southampton

The Bermuda National Trust is proud to announce the launch of Southampton, the tenth and last in its Bermuda’s Architectural Heritage series.

Priced at $55, copies can be purchased at Waterville, our Trustworthy shop at the Globe Museum in St George’s, or at Hamilton bookstores. Southampton is the perfect Christmas gift for anyone with an interest in Bermuda’s architecture or history.

Southampton was written by Dr Edward Harris and edited/co-written by Alistair Border. Its production was managed from research to publication by Linda Abend and Margaret Lloyd. The modern photographs were taken by Robin Judah and Katie Berry but there are also many plans and historic illustrations. The book includes information about the history and architecture of Southampton’s most interesting houses, including some, such as those on the former Naval Operating Base, which sadly have disappeared. It also covers a wide range of other topics such as farming, fish ponds and whaling. The cover features a painting of Waterlot Inn and the Lighthouse by W F Snow.

The Bermuda’s Architectural Heritage series, begun in 1995, covers every parish and the City of Hamilton. The series has been sponsored from the start by Bacardi, which will host the launch of the Southampton book at its Bar under the Stars on Friday, 25 November.

The series highlights the architecture of the most interesting buildings on the island and the people who built, lived and worked in them. In its entirety, it is a fascinating record of Bermuda’s architectural heritage that records the continuous historical process of modification and transformation of Bermuda’s landscape from the time of settlement. Copies of all books in the series, except for St George’s, which is out of print, can be purchased from the Trust.

The books were researched and written by a group of dedicated volunteers and historians, some of whom have worked on the project from the start. The series arose out of research compiled as part of the Bermuda National Trust’s Historic Buildings Survey begun in 1985. The first book, Devonshire, was published in 1995, with subsequent books published at two to five year intervals over the following 27 years.

The Southampton book is dedicated to Edward Chappell [view article], an architectural historian at Colonial Williamsburg, who for almost 30 years volunteered his time to study and record many old Bermuda houses. His findings and input informed the research for all the books published in the series since 2002.

Other researchers and contributors to Southampton include Linda Abend, Katie Berry, Antoinette Butz, Diana Downs, Graham Faiella, Ralph Furbert, Annette Gilbert, Thomas James, Margaret Lee, Margaret Lloyd, Alicia Resnik, Sandra Rouja, Sylvia Shorto, Cecille Snaith-Simmons and Joy Wilson-Tucker. The team was supported by the staff of the Bermuda Archives, the National Library of Bermuda, the Registry General and the Land Title Registry Office, as well as the many private individuals who shared their knowledge, house deeds, family papers, paintings and photographs. Those involved in the production of the book also include Steven Conway, Sean Patterson, Dace McCoy Ground, Lionel Simmons, Hilary Tulloch, Catherine Kennedy, Lokabandhu and Sue Simons.

Author: Dr. Edward Harris
Editor:  Alistair Border
Published by: Bermuda National Trust, 2022
Pages: 266
Illustrations: Black and white photos and drawings
Cover: Laminated, colour
Dimensions: 8.75″ x 11.25″
Price: $55

December 7, 2022 News