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Since we didn't have to meet up with the cruise critic group for our tour until 11:30, Hope and I slept in a bit late.
We had a nice leisure breakfast and headed down to the gangway, but were turned away, as the ship had not yet been cleared by customs.
We'd headed back up to our cabin, when the announcement had been made that we could disembark the ship. We turned around and hopped back into the elevator.
I was a bit afraid that our tour group would have left by now. We hadn't walked too far, when we realized we hadn't taken any towels. Hope was able to grab hers, but I had to go through the entire scanning process to go to pick up the towels.
We got out and to the area where it seemed all tours were congregating. I saw a gentleman holding a "Grey's Tours" sign, but wasn't sure that was the tour guide.
We walked back out and over to a woman standing by a tour exit gate. I asked a woman. "where was the Thenford Grey Tour meeting?" She pointed and said, "in there, look for the sign."
Hope and I walked back into what I then presumed to be the "Arrival Hall," that Terri had described as the meeting place on our voicemail. We huddled around the guy with the sign, but did not recognize any of the folks from the cruise critic group.
We then were directed to head over to a parking lot. Terri called off the names for the larger tour bus and Hope and I along with 7 or 8 other members of the cruise critic group followed a driver to his smaller van.
The van was kinda rickety. It wasn't the greatset, but it worked.
The driver stated that his name was Dwight. He seemd to be a happy guy. We drove out and to the center of town. We appraoched a round-a-bout known as The Circus. The Berkeley Memorial sits in The Circus, the heart of Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts. The Memorial features four clocks, each facing the four different streets of downtown Basseterre, as well as a drinking fountain. The clock was erected in the year 1883. The Berkeley Memorial was built in honour of Thomas Berkeley-Hardtman, a past legislator and estate owner.
We then passed the Bassettere Co-Cathedral of Immaculate Conception.
In the early stages of the French occupation of Basseterre, a Roman Catholic church was erected in the town by the Jesuits and dedicated to Our Lady. Notre Dame was burnt to the ground in 1706 during the Anglo-French War by English soldiers who were billeted there. The Church was re-built by 1710 and renamed St. George's. From the 1720s, it became a place of worship for the Anglicans.
After the take-over of the island by the English in 1713, Roman Catholics were forbidden by law to worship in public. They also suffered certain civil and military disabilities. For example, Roman Catholics were required to take and subscribe certain oaths and declarations, such as the declaration against Transubstantiation, before they would quality for civil or military office or for sitting and voting in the island's legislature. An Act passed in 1829 finally to remove all disabilities. As a consequence, there was a revival of Roman Catholicism.
The steady influx of Portuguese migrants from the island of Madeira from 1835 onwards strengthened the growth of the Roman Catholic community.
A church was built in or about 1856; it was called the Church of the Immaculate Conception. In 1927, it was demolished and replaced by a modern edifice on the same site on East Square Street. Father Claeys who was an architect of repute designed the church. It was dedicated on 6 December 1928.
The Formation House was the residence for the Catholic nuns and the Manse was for the priests.
We then passed the St. George Anglican Church (Basseterre).
In 1670 French Jesuits built a church dedicated to Our Lady; in 1706, however, Notre Dame was burned to the ground by English soldiers billeted there. It was re-built and officially renamed in 1710 St. George's, in the incumbency of the Rev. Alexander Cockburn. St. George's was taken over for Anglican worship in the 1720s. It was damaged again in the fire of 1763, but once again restored. The earthquake of 1842, followed by the hurricane of 1843, reduced it to so ruinous a condition that an entirely new building was planned.
The new Church was to be built to the east of the old, and the cornerstone was laid on October 22, 1844. The Church did not rise above its foundations; for twelve more years, the congregation continued to worship in the ruins of the old Church. In 1856 the present Church was begun, and it was consecrated on 25 March 1859. Seven years afterwards, it was gutted in the Great Fire of 1867; and was re-roofed, and restored in 1869. A pipe organ was installed in 1872 by the firm Booth of Wakefield.
In a series of hurricanes since 1989, the church was again damaged, but restoration work has since been undertaken on the building.
Driving along the Atlantic Ocean coast, we passed a lot a fish mongers, cleaning and preparing fish to sell. One woman held up the squid she was preparing, so we could get a photo. We could see the pelicans in the water, just waiting for something to be tossed into the ocean, for them to feast upon.
We drove passed the War Memorial. The War Memorial was originally unveiled in 1926 at the place now occupied by the Post Office. It honoured the men who died in the First World War. In 1955, following the end of the Second World War, it was moved and replaced by the grander structure and surroundings that can be seen today. The slim white obelisk displays two bronze plaques listing twenty men who died during World War One and six who were killed during World War Two. Three tombs lie in front of the obelisk. Each one is constructed from the stone of one of the three islands which comprised the colony of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla. Every November, the Defence Force, the Police Force and various religious denominations gather at the memorial to remember Kittitians, Nevisians and Anguillians who died in service during the two world wars.
We were then driven through some local neighborhoods and then to a very high point of the island, we all unloaded to take photos of the beautiful scenery.
On to Romney Manor. The 10-acre estate that was built in the 17th century and remains an important historical site in St. Kitts. The home was once owned by Sam Jefferson II, the great great great grandfather of Thomas Jefferson. Wandering around Romney Manor you can view the 350-year old saman tree, which is 24 feet in diameter and covers a half acre. There are 6 acres of glorious gardens with exotic flowers and an old bell tower that back right up to ancient rain forests. There is an air of spirituality at Romney Manor many visitors frequently experience. The setting is majestic.The brightly colored house on this plantation is the current home of Caribelle Batik. We watched an artisan hand-printing fabrics by the 2500 year old Indonesian wax and dye process known as batik. She seemed hesitant, but let me photograph her. A single piece takes 9 days to make. Fabrics dyed in a variety of different patterns and colors adorn this charming home and are available to the public. Romney Manor is a must for photographers and is a popular wedding spot for locals.
The grounds were just gorgeous and the parking lot was soon filled with tour buses.
The store, Caribelle Batik, was filled with all kinds of items, purses, fans, hats, clothing, cosmetic bags, etc, printed in batik. The store was pretty pricey though. I didn't see many folks making purchases, just a few.
After lots of phots, we loaded back into the van an passed by the St. Thomas Anglican Church.
St. Thomas Anglican Church (Middle Island) is the oldest Anglican Church in the West Indies, introduced shortly after the arrival on the island of St Kitts of the eponymous Captain Thomas Warner. In 1623 Warner arrived with a crew of twenty and settled the first European colony on the island. In 1625 Captain Warner returned from a successful trip back to England to sell the tobacco crop grown by the new settlers, and brought with him the Reverend John Teatley (also spelt 'Featley'). Former member of Magdalene College and Fellow of All Souls, Oxford, he became Rector of Middle Island from 1625-1634, establishing the first Anglican congregation on the island. With the rapid expansion of European settlement, a second rector was appointed in 1630 (at Palmetto Point) and shortly after, one on the east coast of the island.
Originally Anglican churches on St. Kitts were temporary structures of wood on cobble-stone foundations, with out-buildings of wild cane. St. Thomas was no different. It stood to the west of the present structure with the tombs of Sir Thomas Warner and Samuel Jefferson situated inside the church. This building was badly damaged by hurricane and earthquake, particularly the earthquake of 1841, and by 1860 worship was being held in the school room. The present stone structure, built by the colony in 1860 at a cost of 2,000 pounds sterling, was consecrated on April 21st, 1861 with Darius Davey as Rector.
One of the most significant events in recent history occurred on Tuesday 8th October 1974. As a result of an early morning earthquake, the church tower collapsed. Shortly before 6 am, Sexton Joseph Duporte was on his way to the church to ring the angelus for matins. He had just reached Warner's tomb when the ground shook, scattering stones all about him. Arch-Deacon Hodge, then Rector for St. Thomas, was leaving his rectory home in Sandy Point to conduct the service when his house shook. He remembers rushing back upstairs to check on his frightened family before hurrying over to the Church.
The collapse of the tower and further tremors led to serious damage of the roof. Extensive fund-raising led by Father Menes Hodge enabled this to be repaired and the Church reopened. The consecration took place in 2000, with Father Payne-Cook as Rector.
Ecclesiastically the church is in the St. Thomas parish, one of nine Anglican parishes in St. Kitts and part of the Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba. The Archbishop of the Diocese is based in Barbados.
The present church was built in 1860, as indicated by the date on the tower, and is based on a typical British design of extended nave and tower at the western end.
According to Rollinson's (2010) survey, the tower was approximately 41 feet high with a base of 14 feet by 18 feet. It was built from local volcanic field stone (andesite) and lime mortar, using traditional methods dressing field stones to make blocks of approximately 10-12 inches square. These are then laid in an inner and outer row 24 to 36 inches apart. The space between the inner and outer wall is filled with consolidated rubble (small stones mixed together with lime mortar). The gaps between the facing blocks being filled with mortar, 'pointed' to prevent rainwater getting into the consolidated rubble as well as providing a more aesthetically looking finish.
The dimensions and design of the tower are typical for the period, found elsewhere in the English-speaking Caribbean, including St. George's Anglican Church, Basseterre. The original design of a tall tower for its relatively small footprint size makes these towers particularly susceptible to damage from earthquakes and hurricanes. When the St. Thomas Church tower was re-built in 1860, substantial exterior buttresses were added for additional support. Their effectiveness was revealed in the 1974 earthquake when only the unsupported top third of the tower was destroyed.
The earthquake which destroyed the bell-tower also created a crisis for the church bell. This valuable instrument was originally cast in England and used for over a century to summon parishioners to worship. After the 1974 earthquake it was placed on the floor of the old tower - but was secretly stolen to be shipped overseas. The ship carrying the bell was tied up at the island of St Thomas, en route for the East, when the theft was discovered and the thieves apprehended. The bell was returned to St Kitts, and is now stored in the rectory until it can be rehung. Meanwhile the two small support bells are mounted and used, but lack the resonance of the old bell.
Today there are about 200 active, though aging, members of the parish. People recall that the Church was far more important in their lives in the past, a time when transport was difficult and alternative diversions, few. This was when plantation owners sent workers to tend the garden and graveyard, and Church lands were immaculate; when youth groups were large and energetic, hosting concerts and sports events regularly; when early morning mass was crowded and members regarded the church with respect and even awe; when all children were baptized and the Church was packed for a funeral. Since the early 19th century St Thomas has kept full records of the activities of the parish and these reveal how the congregation as well as the Church has changed. In 1850 the congregation consisted largely of farm labourers (men) and domestic workers or laundry workers (women). Today the high church form of worship appeals to an increasingly educated congregation, while many working people prefer one of the "outside" churches so popular on St Kitts.
The former importance of the Church is echoed in oral accounts. One woman remembers from her childhood in the mid-20th century that Christmas services were particularly memorable. Her family lived in the village of Half Way Tree, where her parents kept a bakery. On Christmas Eve the children
would be put to bed early, then woken at 10pm to find new clothes laid out for them. With great excitement they got dressed and then all set out, to walk the few miles to church. Singing carols as they went, they were joined along the way by other Anglicans heading for the same midnight mass. Finally the crowd rounded the corner into Middle Island and there, at the top of the hill, was St Thomas Church, colored lights bursting from its stained glass windows, a magnificent sight backlit by the night stars. Few other places at that time had either electricity or glass windows like the Church, which was lit up like the Promised Land.
Though largely silent in Church records, women have long played an important role in the life of the Church. Outstanding recent parishioners include Ms Lilian Davis, beloved Church organist and Sunday school teacher (who died around 1965), and Ms Edna Tyrrell (1914-2011), school teacher and community leader.
More likely to survive earthquakes and hurricanes, tomb- and monument-stones in the West Indies are generally older than the churches in which they are found. St. Thomas Church cemetery, the oldest in the Island and possibly in the British Caribbean, contains some of the oldest tombstones in the region. These date back to the 17th century, the graves of wealthy white land owners and buccaneers. Slaves and labourers, not admitted to the Anglican congregation until the late 18th century, were more likely to be buried on the estates where they died and, until recently, had unmarked graves. Parish records, however, mention one William Wells, wealthy land owner and father of Nathaniel Wells, first black sheriff in UK, as being buried in St Thomas cemetery in 1794; and the family of John Duport (born 1830, who was sent on the first West Indies mission to Africa) was already resident in the area by that time.
Some distinguished people were buried in St Thomas's graveyard. The earliest burials were those of Sir Thomas Warner in 1648 and his friend Captain Samuel Jeaffreson in 1649. That of Sir Thomas Warner is the largest, its marble stone weathered but the expansive epitaph still largely legible. Sir Thomas, the first Lieutenant-Governor of St Kitts, was knighted by King Charles 1 in 1629. Adjacent is the grave of Captain Samuel Jeaffreson, born in Suffolk, England, in 1584, and neighbour to Thomas Warner. Great-great-great grandfather of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the US, he arrived in St Kitts in 1625 with his brother John Jeaffreson, captain of the Hopewell, which relieved the distress of the new Kittitian settlement after a hurricane in 1624. He then became the owner of Wingfield Estate (the Red House Plantation), subject of the first land-grant in the English Caribbean, in 1625.
Pavilions covering the graves of Sir Thomas Warner and his friend Captain Samuel Jeaffreson,
Michael Lambert, Major General of the Leeward Islands and sometime Governor of St. Christopher's, died 1723/4 and was also buried in St Thomas cemetery.
Two illustrious old families are commemorated inside the Church. Over the west door, a monumental marble remembers Sir Charles Payne (died 1744), descended from an illustrious Norman line. Another monument is to Captain John Pogson (died 1686). One of his descendents, Sir Edward Pogson (died 1892) is buried in the cemetery. Owner of Bourkes Estate, he gave land for the Pogson Hospital in Sandy Point.
Several English clergymen who served St. Thomas parish are commemorated in the Church. Rev. Louis Randolph Victor Spinks (died 1969), Rector of St. Thomas Church from 1915-1932, is remembered with a plaque. Father Bulteel, Rector from 1942-44, was buried facing east (as befits a priest) in the grave outside the main Church entrance. Next to Father Bulteel, but facing west (as befits a congregationer) lies Joseph Nathaniel Duporte (1915-2006), Sexton of the church for over sixty years. At his request, he was buried next to his friend. Duporte's mother and wife are buried in the grave just below them.
Other recent graves include that of Sir Geoffrey Boon (1888-1970), owner of Wingfield Estate for many years, and an important benefactor of the church. He is buried with members of his family to the west of the main church entrance.
We weren't afforded any chances to hop out and take photos, so I had to try and take photos, as best I could.
We then headed on to the Brimstone Hil Fortress National Park. Construction of Charles Fort began by the British in 1670 and took 12 years to complete. Due to the size of the fort and the expense involved in its construction the King had to directly contribute funds to its completion. Charles Fort was originally known as Cleverley Hill Fort. St. Kitts was settled by the English in 1623 or 1624 and the French the following year. There was constant conflict between the two during the time the island was shared between them. In 1690 the French overran Charles Fort and the British, with the aid of enslaved Africans, dragged guns up to Brimstone Hill to fire on Charles Fort and rout the French. The British thereafter realized the strategic value of Brimstone Hill and started developing it as a fortress. Up to the early 18th century Brimstone Hill was seen merely as an adjunct to Charles Fort in defending the Sandy Point Anchorage, one of the largest and most strategically important anchorages in the Atlantic World due to the value of trade (including slave trading) which passed through this port. It was only when advances in artillery technology in the 18th century enabled Sandy Point Anchorage to be adequately covered by guns at Brimstone Hill did Brimstone Hill supersede Charles Fort as the main defensive position for the Sandy Point Anchorage. Despite being eclipsed in terms of defensive technology and sheer size by Brimstone Hill Fortress, an inland citadel fort, Charles Fort remained an important coastal defence up until it was abandoned as a military site in 1853, in the 1890's it became a leper asylum named the Hansen Home. The Hansen Home was the most important leprosarium in the Leeward Islands, serving several neighbouring islands. The Hansen Home was closed in 1996 when the last leper passed away. Charles Fort is the largest coastal fort in St. Kitts and the second largest fortification, after Brimstone Hill Fortress, on the island. Charles Fort is also one of the largest coastal forts in the Eastern Caribbean.
The winding road looked a bit treacherous, with some very viewable drop-offs, but we made the 800 ft drive up to the fortress. The day was kind of over cast and wet, with off and on rain. I made my way up the
26 stone steps leading up to the fortress itself. I actually stepped up and made 3 steps to the next step. The tour allowed us to explore the Citadel, Western Place of Arms, Eastern Place of Arms, Magazine Bastion, Orillon Bastion, the quarters and Fort George Museum. Hope stayed to view the video and did not want to tackle those steps.
We stayed there about an hour. I then asked Dwight, could he drop us back at the pier to do some shopping as we would not enjoy off and on rain and the cloudiness of the day, wasted at a beach. He called over someone who seemed to be a tour guide organizer. I explained the same thing to the gentleman, who told Dwight, he could drop us off when he went to a second beach to pick up folks to take them back to the pier.
After dropping the passengers of our van off, we headed over to the other beach to pick up some other cruiseship passengers. There were velvet monkeys in a small patch of road. I tried to get Dwight to slow down, but he would never come to a complete stop. We arrived at the other beach and picked up a bunch of loud kids. They cursed and were just obnoxious. When we neared the pier, they were in awe of our ship. After going on and on, I decided to say something in response. Then one of them asked, "are you guys on that ship?" I said, "yes," and went on and on to brag about the activities on the ship and pointed out the Rip Cord, as you could see the instructor, flying in it. They we like, "WOW."
We hopped out and had a small discrepancy with Dwight, regarding the cost of the tour. I explained that we were with the group of 22 people and the agreed cost was $43. He smiled in disbelief, but I told him that was the agreed cost. Hope and I left him there with the kids from the other ship and did a bit of shopping.
Hope headed in after several purchases and I just strolled through several of the stores and did a bit of people watching.
We hurried to get cleaned up and re-dressed to head down to the $10 sale. I stood next to her near some bangle bracelets. Hope said she thought some items, she was interested in, were on the opposite end and headed there. An Asian woman stepped out from next to me and of course, lost her place. I hadn't planned to purchase anything, just there to take some photos. I also watched a woman, who seemed not to care that there were several minutes left, before the red covers were pulled back, lifting up the covers and picking out items she wanted. Before the Asian woman left, she said, "some people don't follow the rules." I said, "yeah, she also probably is faking that she can't understand Engllish."
Anyway, when the covers were removed it was like watching folks waiting for Wal-Mart to open their doors on Black Friday. It was so funny, I had to take out my camera and take a few photos.
I told Hope I was hungry and she said, she'd meet me at the Windjammer.
I headed up and fixed myself a salad. Just as I finished my salad, Sherri walked in. I called her and she came to sit with me. After a while, I went to fix myself an entree. Hope finally made her way up and we talked a bit while eating.
I offered to take Hope's bags up to the cabin, as she and Sherri headed to the comedy show.
I stopped to take a look at the pool area and then headed on back to my cabin to blog a bit.
Good Night!
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