Arriving by sea makes for a lasting first impression of historic St. George’s, Bermuda . From the salute of a Gates Fort cannon to the bell-ringing greetings of the town crier, it’s all very, very proper, befitting a thoroughly British colony established some 400 years ago on the northeast end of this hook-shaped Atlantic atoll. But crier aside, there is little artifice afoot in St. George’s, a modern, fully functioning town that also happens to be a charming open-air museum.
“Here, you really step back in time,’’ says Sharon Jacobs, executive director of the St. George’s Foundation, which successfully lobbied for the town’s UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2000. It’s a walker-friendly little burg with access from the mid-island golf resorts near Hamilton, as well as the Dockyard megaship terminal on the west end, and an afternoon spent wandering its streets offers an enjoyable primer on Bermuda’s colorful history.
For all its grace and ambience, the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the Americas began with a disaster, one that possibly became an inspiration for William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In July 1609, a hurricane struck a relief-supply fleet bound for the struggling New World settlement of Jamestown, Virginia. Blown off course, the flagship Sea Venture ran aground on Bermuda’s treacherous reefs; the castaways established St. George’s in the 10 months it took to construct two new ships from the wreckage. The survivors then sailed on to Virginia, about 700 miles to the west, saving the Jamestown settlers from imminent starvation.
Realizing the value of a sheltered harbor on a strategically located island, Britain established a permanent colony in St. George’s – originally called New London – in 1612. The same year, the settlers founded St. Peter’s, the oldest Anglican church outside the British Isles and the longest-serving Protestant church in the New World. Peek inside to find gleaming communion silver presented by King William III – and the church’s longtime organist, who may be persuaded to pull out the stops on “Amazing Grace.’’
Back outside, get lost in a maze of winding lanes and narrow brick streets lined with whitewashed 17th-century cottages, pastel-hued colonial-era shop houses, and a profusion of palm trees and flowering hibiscus and frangipani. On nearby Aunt Peggy’s Lane stands tiny Pilot Darrell’s house, originally the home of James “Jemmy” Darrell, a slave who won his freedom in 1796, at age 47, after guiding the British warship HMS Resolution through treacherous waters and safely into the harbor. Just around the corner on Queen Street, 300-year-old Stewart Hall houses the family-owned Bermuda Perfumery.
If you want to do more than just soak up the history, quirky small museums abound in St. George’s. The Globe Hotel, built around 1700 as a private home for a reportedly corrupt governor, houses the Bermuda National Trust Museum. Its well-curated exhibition “Rogues & Runners: Bermuda and the American Civil War’’ recounts Bermuda’s support of the Confederacy during that time. St. George’s prospered as a rebel entrepôt where Southern cotton was traded for English ironware, weapons and luxury goods, which were subsequently smuggled into port cities such as Wilmington, North Carolina, by blockade runners. The St. George’s Foundation recently reno-vated one of the town’s wartime warehouses; the new World Heritage Centre now holds historic exhibits, a gift shop, maps and brochures about the town.
Stroll 10 minutes north to check out the atmospheric Unfinished Church, a Gothic ruin from the 1870s that endured a litany of roadblocks during 50 years of construction: funding woes, a split among parishioners and, finally, a hurricane that destroyed its roof. Tobacco Bay, one of the east end’s most family-friendly beaches, is another 10 minutes away. Enormous limestone formations shelter the shallow cove and its small, arcing beach. Vendors hawk every beach essential: snorkel gear, burgers, beer and soft drinks. Although there’s not much coral to admire, the waters are thick with colorful reef fish, including sergeant majors, bluehead wrasse and French grunt.
A half-mile east of Tobacco Bay stands Fort St. Catherine, a squat stone citadel that’s changed little since the late Victorian period; the gun floor still holds 18-ton muzzle-loading cannons, while the powder magazine displays swords and historic firearms on its 25-foot-thick walls – built to last, like St. George’s itself.
St. George’s is accessible by swift ferries from the Royal Naval Dockyard or buses and taxis from Hamilton. The World Heritage Centre (Penno’s Wharf; 441-297-8043; bermudaworldheritage.org) opens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except Sunday (April-October) and Sunday and Monday (November-March). Admission is $5. The Bermuda National Trust Museum (32 Duke of York St.; 441-297-1423; bnt.bm) opens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Days vary seasonally. Admission is $5.
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