Fort St. Catherine

Fort St. Catherine is located on one of Bermuda's Eastern Edges, just north of the town site of St. George's.  It has taken me almost 5 years to get around to touring this fort, mostly because I never looked it up on a map and wasn't sure how to find it.  It's easy to find when you know the way -- simply drive up the hill across from King's Square in the Town of St. Georges.  You will go right past the unfinished church, through an abandoned golf course, turn right at Tobacco Bay (you can already see the fort by now) and drive up to its gate.  If you don't go to St. George's often, you might need to stop at the Unfinished Church and Tobacco Bay on the way just because they are so pretty.

Fort. St. Catherine from the outside

Numerous times I have meant to see Fort St. Catherine, and this first photo was actually taken in November when I finally made it to the gates, and over the moat before getting a call from a friend, Simon, to go tour the nearby "hidden fortress" instead.  So this January I decided to try again, with Phil, another friend who is leaving the island at the beginning of February.  Seems like everybody is leaving...my turn is coming soon as well.

We expected this to be a short tour, as it is just a little round tower as you can see.  Well, there is much more Fort tucked away behind that little tower...and it is not even a round tower.  What the picture above shows is the outside wall of "The Keep."  The keep in any British fortress is the area that would be used for a last stand, where the soldiers can wall themselves off inside and fight.  It is surrounded by a moat, has a kitchen and water tank, sleeping areas, and lots of guns and defense systems.  On the other side of the keep is actually a very large and multi-level fortress.

Looking back on the keep from further inside the Fort

The site began in 1612, as a wooden fortification built by the British.  In 1614 the construction shifted to stone.  The Fort was an important one as ships coming in from the Atlantic would be forced by the reef system to pass by its guns to gain access to the island and its westerly parts, and the ships would have limited maneuverability due to the extensive reefs.  While Dockyard was constructed largely in part by prisoners from Britain, it seems as though Fort St. Catherine was constructed by soldiers, although the first batch was dropped here, and forgotten about and left to fend for themselves with no provisions for 13 years.  The prisoners later at Dockyard may have had an easier go of it.

It is also worth to note that the sandy beaches just off of Fort St. Catherine are the same ones where the Sea Venture wrecked in 1609, resulting in the inadvertent settlement of Bermuda.

The sandy beach outside the Fort walls probaby hosted sunbathing soldiers for hundreds of years

The military remained active at this site for close to 4 centuries...a lot of history here.  There are many types of cannons, gun mounts, and artillery.

Old artillery

Somewhat newer artillery

There were rooms made up to display daily life.  Phil was happy to point out the strategy of the stairwell directions giving the height and right hand advantage to a soldier on top over the unfortunate offender trying to ascend, and I was happy to find a chart listing British colonial slang and their meanings, insults like pusher, bun smuggler, and my personal favorite, to call someone a poodle faker.  I will make you visit the museum to find out the meanings though.

The Fort boasts a beautiful view.

It flies the Bermuda and the British flag over the coastline.

And shows the textures of 4 centuries...

The construction of the fort  began in 1609 but was added on over the years

...as well as the passage of time.

Weathering on the rock walls

Well worth the $7 admission.