Historic & Cultural Sights

Montserrat Estate Houses PAGE 1 ; 2Olveston House PAGE 3Air Studios PAGE 4Rocklands Tomb Stone PAGE 5The Cot PAGE 6Water Storage Tanks PAGE 7Lookout Muscovado Sugar Factory PAGE 8Muscovado Sugar Mills PAGE 9 ; 10Ancient Churches PAGE 11 ; 12 ; 13Walkinshaw Building PAGE 14Old St. Peters School Hall PAGE 14Carr’s Bay Gun Battery PAGE 15Carr’s Plantation PAGE 16Piper’s Pond PAGE 17Margarita Bay PAGE 18Silk Cotton Tree PAGE 19Runaway Ghaut Spring PAGE 20Old Police Station PAGE 21Thousands of Pieces Tower PAGE 22Montserrat Airports PAGE 23Golf Club Ruins PAGE 24Little Bay Public Market PAGE 25Museum PAGE 26View Point Hotel PAGE 27Silver Hills PAGE 28Jackboy Hill Lookout Facility - Back Page PAGE 28

Produced byJustin Cassell & Glesford JamesIn association with the Office of the Premierand the Cabinet SecretariatNarrative & Research: Justin CassellResearch Consultant: Charles KirnonPhotography & Outline: Glesford James© July 2012

Most estates on Montserrat had a mainhouse which stood out as a prominent landmark because of its elaborate size andnumerous rooms. Notable among these areOlveston Estate House, Providence EstateHouse, Dubberys Estate House, BlakesEstate House, Waterworks Estate House andRocklands Estate House. Despite the myththat estate houses are haunted, theseproperties are frequently occupied.1Providence Estate House at Woodlands

Under ConstructionBlakes Estate Housewww.montserratvillas.comWaterworks Estate HouseRocklands Estate HouseDubberys Estate House at Woodlands2

The Olveston house as we know it today was built in 1950 bythe then manager of Montserrat Company. Olveston Househas a very interesting history. The original wooden housewas built in the 1800s. It had all the characteristics of atypical ancient estate house with numerous large roomsand a spacious yard. Olveston house had a number ofimportant Firsts: 1. Montserrat first cinema operated inthe basement. 2. It housed Montserrat’s first radio station,ZJB. 3. The first house in Montserrat to have electricity.Currently it’s the holiday home of former Beatles Manager,Sir George Martin and his wife. When the Martins are notoccupying the house, it is operated by Margaret Wilson andCarol Osborne as a guest house and restaurant.3

Located at WaterworksStudio Front Entrance4

Rocklands Tomb Stone at St. PetersThis tomb stone can be seen in the abandonedgraveyard at Rocklands. It is one of theisland’s tourist attraction.5

‘The Cot’ located at Olveston MountainThe sign above demarcates the ruins of‘The Cot’. The Cot was the Summer Homeof the Sturge Family originally fromEngland, who once owned several estateson Montserrat. The Sturges were involvedin growing crops like Sea Island Cotton,Lime, Sugar Cane and Indigo.6

Rectangular shaped concrete water storage tanks werefamiliar sights in a number of villages on Island. They providefree water for the villagers who in the dry months of the yearoften had to line up to collect water. These tanks are stillevident today in St. John’s, Baker Hill, and Drummonds.Baker Hill Water TankSt. John’s Water Tank7

Barzeys Estate Sugar MillBy the year 1730 Montserrat had78 Sugar Mills. When the sugarfactories were closed down,some of the mills were convertedinto dwellings and bars.The Richmond Hill Sugar Millfunctioned as a Museum untilvolcanic activity forced itsclosure in 1996. Many of thesestructures are still standingtoday. They remain symbols of avanished plantocracy that hasleft their names behind.9Baker Hill Estate Sugar Mill 1 Baker Hill Sugar Mill 2

Brades Estate Sugar MillForgathy Estate Sugar Mill10

The Salem Methodist Churchwas built in 1929 by ReverendWilliam Sunter at a cost of558 pounds 6 shillings and 2pence. The baptismal font wascarved from solid wood by aTrinidadian, Mr. Perry. His wifewas a Montserratian womanborn in 1840 and died in1937. Members of thecongregation operates a soupkitchen every Saturday forunder privileged persons.Salem Methodist ChurchSt John’s Anglican Church,built in 1929 has survivedseveral natural disasters(hurricanes and earthquakes)and still stands today as anexample of Montserrat’sunique early 20th centuryarchitecture and construction.In addition to being a place ofworship, it has served as acommunity centre and ashelter. One of the island’smost ancient grave yardsoccupies the Western portionof the church yard.St John’s Anglican Church11

Bethesda MethodistChurch (Cavalla HillChurch)The original BethesdaMethodist Church was awooden structure builtin 1855. The church wasrefurbished in 1885.The wooden church wasreplaced with a stonechurch.Bethany MethodistChurchThe Bethany MethodistChurch was dedicatedon December 17-1980 byRev. N.D. Brodie,Chairman of theDistrict and Rev. EvansDoods, SuperintendentMinister.Zion PentecostalChurchThe Zion PentecostalChurch was built by thefounder Joseph JFenton in 1950. It wasrefurbished in 1991 byDavid C Fenton.12

St James AnglicanChurchThe St. JamesAnglican churchis located inSalem. It wasbuilt in 1932.St PetersAnglican ChurchThe St PetersAnglican Churchis a spirituallandmark in thevillage ofSt Peters.Beulah PilgrimHoliness ChurchThe BeulahPilgrim HolinessChurch is locatedin Providence.13

Walkinshaw Building in SalemThe Walkinshaw building once housed a grocery with afamous bakery in the downstairs and dwelling quarters upstairs.Mr. Walkinshaw, the owner of the building was a legislator forseveral years. He created the secret recipe for Salem Bread. TheWalkinshaw building represents an ancient type of Montserratarchitecture which combines wood and concrete. Many believe thatthe building should be restored and serve as a tourist attraction.OLD ST. PETERS SCHOOL HALL14

Carr’s Bay Gun BatteryIn 1624, the MontserratCounsel ordered theNegros living in the Eastof the Island to travel toCarr’s Bay in December tobuild a gun battery andreturn to the East inJanuary. The gun batterywas strategically placedat Carr’s Bay to defend theisland against approachingships. Today the Carr’s BayGun Battery is used as apicnic area in addition tobeing a popular touristattraction.15Carrs Bay Gun Battery

Carr’s Plantation at Little BayThe ruins of the masters house is still quite evident on the CarrsPlantation site. Artifacts found during recent archaeological digssuggest that the masters of Carr’s Plantation frequently tradedoverseas allowing them to have an expensive and extravagantlifestyle. Archaeological studies has also shown that the Master’sGreat House was destroyed by fire. Fruit trees like Sugar Apple andSoursop are still seen growing on the Plantation.Ruins of House Foundation Carrs Plantation16

Piper’s Pond is the only remaining area ofMangrove on the island. Mangrove swamps arebeneficial. They provide:* Breathing grounds for fish* Resting place for migratory birds* Natural defense against storm surges* Prevents siltation of marine areas17

MAGARITA BAY IS A POTENTIAL DOCKINGSITE FOR BOATS AND YACHTS18

Silk Cotton Tree at Cudjoe HeadSilk cotton trees in Montserrat were of agriculturalimportance having economic value in the fabricindustry. The silk cotton tree in Cudjoe Head howeverhas added historic significance. Legend has it that arunaway slave name Cudjoe was lynched on the treeduring the dark days of slavery. The village was thenappropriately called Cudjoe Head. The tree haswithstood several hurricanes. Today it still stands veryerect and healthy. The tree provides dense shade forpersons who gather beneath it for a chat or waiting forthe bus.19

Runaway Ghaut SpringRunaway Ghaut is an important touristattraction. There is a myth that oncevisitors drink water from Runaway Ghaut,they must return to Montserrat.20

Old Police Station at HopeThe building that once housed theHope Police Station is now anunoccupied dilapidated structure. Itwas among one of the first policestations built in a village outside ofPlymouth. It was the home for severalfamilies of police.21

Thousands of Pieces Tower at Upper FrithsIt towers above everything in the area, even the tallest of coconuttrees. The structure is called “One Million Pieces” (indicative ofthe process by which it was built), says Franklin Hixson(Jackie Fire), the owner and builder.22

MONTSERRAT AIRPORTSBlackburne Airstripwww.paradise-islands.org/montserratSite of Olveston Airstrip (Overgrown)Chartered flightsstarted from a dirtairstrip at Olvestonin 1956. This servicelater became LeewardIslands Air Transport(LIAT), founded byFrank S. Delisle andL.W. Magruder. In 1957John A. Osborne AirportBlackburne Airportopened at Trants and the airstrip at Olveston was abandoned.In 1967 a paved airstrip was constructed at BlackburneAirport replacing the dirt airstrip. Regular service toAntigua began with 20-passenger Twin Otter planes. In lateryears the airport name was changed to W.H. Bramble Airport.The airport is now buried under pyroclastic deposits andabandoned. It was replaced by the John Alfred Osborne23 Airport at Geralds, built in 2005.

Golf Club Ruins at Old TowneBELHAM VALLEY GOLF CLUBWith the advent of residential tourism in the60s came the development of a (11-hole) GolfCourse at the Belham River Valley. The golfcourse now lies beneath layers of rubblecaused by several mudflows carrying volcanicdeposits. Several regional and internationaltournaments took place on the golf course.The club house is partially submerged.24

Little Bay Public MarketThe Little Bay Public Market was built in 2009 with fundsprovided by the Caribbean Petroleum Stabilization Fund. Amarket place in most Caribbean islands is an area wherepeople gather on the weekends, not only to get freshfruits and vegetables, but also to socialize. With thedecline in agricultural production in Montserrat a lot ofthe food products that were available in the market placeare now imported and offered for sale in thesupermarkets. The market place is a significant touristattraction.25

Museum at Little BayThe Montserrat National Museum shown belowwas built in 2012. This is a move away from theold tradition of converting old ancientbuildings into museums. An example of this isthe Richmond Hill Sugar Mill that functionedas a museum until it was closed in 1996. Alarge variety of artifacts are currentlydisplayed at the Montserrat National Museum.The museum is operated by the MontserratNational Trust.26

View Point Hotel at Old Road BayHutsThe View Point Hotel was opened at OldRoad Bay in 1961. The hotel is owned by theOsborne family. Because of volcanicactivity the View Point Hotel istemporarily closed.27

Sir Walter Raleigh and his crew frequented the Silver Hillsto collect Red Cedar Lumber for repairs to their vesselswhich were docked at English Harbor in Antigua.Photo from www.montserrat-today.comSilver Hills MountainThe Jackboy Hill facility was built by the MontserratTourist Board. It sits on the summit of the hill surroundedby evergreen lawns and conspicuous flowing plants.Jackboy Hill Lookout Facility is a lookout platformequipped with binoculars, seats, bathrooms and arecreation area. The facility affords a good look of thedamage done by the Soufriere Hills Volcano to the easternend of the island. On a clear day the dome and crater of thevolcano is very visible. The Jackboy Hill facility is anideal place to relax or to have a picnic.PHOTOS BACK PAGE28

PICNIC AREAENTRANCE