'The Cottage is the official residence of the RNO (Resident Naval Officer) at HMS Malabar, the Royal Navy's 'stone frigate' or shore station at Bermuda. It is the second Cottage on the site, the first having been built in 1827, the same year as the Parsonage and during the building of the architectural extravaganza of the Commissioner's House.' – Gillian Startin, "The Cottage", Official Residence of the Resident Naval Officer, 1989.

Bermuda architecture, a unique species, of buildings, is one of the most enduring legacy of the past in these islands and it is a pleasure to note that some architects have reverted to preserving its characteristics in new houses, not to say office buildings. While the design of the early stone houses in Bermuda was affected by outside influences, the resulting buildings, especially in the arrangement of the roof, for weatherproofing and the collection of water, became distinctly Bermudian.

Outside influences continue to affect many aspects of Bermuda life, but it is to be hoped that we can maintain local vernacular architecture forever, if only because it is one of the most charming parts of the island, greatly appreciated by the discerning visitor, the he or she who have long paid much in tourism dollars to support our lifestyle.

That we should preserve that heritage, as it is good for Bermudian souls, is a point not understood by some and ignored by others, the latter whose hearts and souls risk calcification by a thirst for the almighty dollar, as "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot". The beginning of that refrain from Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" is perhaps the most apt expression for demolished architectural heritage: "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone."

A major part of the work of the historian or archaeologist is to determine what we had that is now gone and, in that, Bermuda is no different than any other place on the globe that people have settled. It is a universal fact of human life that things we build are subject to decay and destruction, if not maintained or restored from time to time. Catastrophic weather or wars and other calamities add to the reduction of history and heritage to oblivion or archaeological remains beneath the earth.

At other times, termites or other agents are invoked as the rationale for knocking down perfectly good buildings, as was the case of the Dockyard "Cottage" in the late 1930s, the non-edible stone steps of which now beautifully adorn the entry staircase of a fine home in the central parishes.

The Cottage was the third of a trio of important heritage buildings of the Dockyard (and for Bermuda itself), the other two, which yet survive, being the Dockyard Parsonage and the great Commissioner's House, the last now the flagship of the Nation Museum. All these homes were built in the second half of the 1820s and were intended as the residences of the three most important officials of the Bermuda Dockyard. The top dog was the Commissioner, piggy in the middle was the Naval Storekeeper, and the bottom dog was the Parson for the Royal Navy at Bermuda. That order may be reversed if you are inclined to think that the heavenly factor precedes the two earthly authorities.

What those buildings had in common was the use of Bermuda stone for walls (but not roofs, which were Welsh slate), a late Georgian interior layout and the presence of verandas, in the instance of the Parsonage on all four sides, perhaps unique in local housing. It is suggested that these buildings introduced verandas and late Georgian interior designs to Bermuda architecture and thus they are of high significance in the history of vernacular traditions on these shores.

Along with the Parsonage, the Cottage was built in the year 1827 and like the Parsonage, probably contained timber brought out that year in Coromandel, destined to become a prison hulk at the dockyard for some years to come. Thus in 2010, the Parsonage is 183 years old, with the Commissioner's House a few years senior to the vicar's pad, round on Craddock Road to the north of the Royal Naval Cemetery.

The Cottage and the Parsonage, by the look of old photographs, were designed by the same person, or persons, and likely built by the same constructors. Both were single story dwellings, the roof of which continued over the verandas, which were adorned with the same design of lattice work for railings, each building being lifted some feet above ground level to give a better view and ventilation under the veranda floor. The Cottage was larger than the Parsonage but other than that, as may be determined only from photographs, the buildings mirrored one another. Like the Parsonage, the Cottage was built on a small knoll, with splendid views of Grassy Bay, now in both instances obscured by invasive trash trees.

That as regards the Cottage is largely what we know now of what we once had, in terms of a elegant building that helped to influence the development of Bermuda architecture in the second quarter of the 19th Century.

In 1938, the timber and stone Cottage was pulled down and replaced by a stone and concrete building. The new Cottage, yet standing, is perhaps one of the earliest examples of the "International Style" of architecture in Bermuda, which fortunately (with its stark lines and flat concrete veranda roofs) appeared not to have exerted much of an influence on the rest of the island. On the other hand, some might consider it a gem in the Bauhaus tradition of the 1930s and insist it should be preserved: "Building beauty", as might be said, "is in the eye of the beholder".

Unlike the corruption from without apparently evinced in the original Cottage by timber loving termites, the new Cottage is subject to corruption from within, for some features of its "modern" style were rendered in concrete with ungalvanized reinforcing bar. As may be seen in decaying buildings on the old United States bases, such rebar has a short shelf life, eventually, by the force of its corrosive rusting, blowing the concrete apart.

Edward Cecil Harris, MBE, JP, PHD, FSA is Executive Director of the National Museum of Bermuda, incorporating the Bermuda Maritime Museum. Comments may be made to director@bmm.bm or 704-5480.