Party like it’s 1612!
Today, exactly 400 years ago, the Plough arrived in Bermuda bringing the Island’s first permanent settlers.This weekend, the Town of St George plans to celebrate this pivotal moment in our history, with a host of activities including tours, a special photo session on the Deliverance replica, lectures, special church services and lots of food and fun.“These two days will be fantastic if you are interested in the early history of St George,” said Rick Spurling, chairman of the St George Foundation. “The weekend will be extremely interesting and exciting with many things to do. Historian Dr Michael Jarvis and George Cook will be giving lectures about Bermuda’s history.”He said Plough would have pulled into Smith’s Sound between Smith’s Island and what is now Black Horse Tavern in St David’s.There will be tours of Smith’s Island given by Dr Jarvis so that people can see exactly where the Plough would have landed and where the settlers might have made their camp. It is not known if anyone in Bermuda is descended from Plough passengers as a ship manifest has not yet been found.“All we know is that there was Governor Richard Moore and Captain Davis on the Plough and there was a first mate,” said Mr Spurling. “There are a lot of people in Bermuda descended from Sea Venture passenger Christopher Carter. The Haywards are one family descended from him. He stayed here for the rest of his life, and was killed in an explosion at a young age in Castle Harbour.”But Mr Spurling said there was research going on into the identities of the people who were on Plough. In terms of the look of the Plough, there are no known pictures, but Dr Jarvis believes it looks similar to the Godspeed that went to Jamestown. A full-scale, working replica was made of it recently.On Saturday at 1pm, the St George Foundation is calling for 120 people to gather on the deck of the Deliverance replica in period costume for a photo session. They will each pay $10 which will go towards the preservation of the Deliverance. The photo session is meant to demonstrate how jammed the Deliverance would have been when it went on to Jamestown, Virginia with this exact number of people on board. The photo will be placed on a number of websites including the Bermuda Department of Tourism website, the St George Foundation website and the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation website.“It will be a dramatic thing and will get people’s attention,” said Mr Spurling. “I am encouraging people to dress in period costume, but it is not always easy. I have a few outfits. Otherwise people will be dressed in 18th century mop caps. People not in costume will stand in the back.”
Schedule of events for this weekend’s commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Bermuda’s settlement in St George’s:
Boat trips to Smith’s Island with tour guides Michael Jarvis, Alexandra Mairs-Kessler and Rick Spurling will leave from Ordnance Island in St George on Saturday at 1pm and 3pm. Tickets are $20 per person. The trip lasts two hours. The maximum capacity is 40. No refreshments available.
A photography session replicating the arrival of the
Plough, will be at 1pm on Saturday at the
Deliverance on Ordnance Island in St George. The cost is $10 per person. Leave your e-mail address with organisers for a copy of the picture. Those in period costume will be in front.
The World Heritage Centre will be open from 10am to 4pm on Saturday with free admission. The film ‘A Stroll through St George’s’ will be shown continuously.At 11am there will be a lecture by Michael Jarvis, Earliest Bermuda, 1612-1625. At 2.30pm the lecture will be repeated in Ye Olde Town Market which will be open from 11am to 4pm.At 12pm there will be a lecture by George Cook, the Arrival of the
Sea Venture.A “wench” will be ducked by the Town Crier in the ducking stools in the Town Square, at 12pm and 2pm.
St George’s Historical Society Museum will be open with free admission from 10am until 4pm. Lucy Attride-Stirling will give a quilting demonstration from 10.30am until 4pm. Ronnie Chameau will display dolls of the period and give a weaving display from 1pm until 4pm. Trudy Snaith will recount the Sarah Catherine story and provide an explanation of old kitchen tools from 2pm to 3pm. There will be a white elephant and plant sale from 10am to 4pm. There will also be a jubilee celebration display; meanwhile the Sea Cadets will give knot-tying demonstrations.
Carter House and Settler’s Dwelling will be open from 10am until 4pm on Saturday and Sunday with free admission. Larry Mills will describe building methods and tools from 1612. A minibus will be available for a return trip from the Town Square at $5. Parking at Carter House across the street.
Their Majesties Chappell, St Peter’s Church, will be open on Saturday from 10am until 4pm and Sunday, July 15 after a special commemoration service at 11.15am.
The Bermuda National Trust’s Tucker House and the Globe Hotel will open from 10am until 4pm on both days with tour guides available at both locations.
The St George’s Historical Society’s Mitchell House will open on Saturday from 10am until 4pm and Sunday from noon until 4pm.
Fort St Catherine will be open both days from 10am until 4pm. A minibus will shuttle passengers from the Town Square to the fort every 30 minutes.
Town Hall will be open both days from 9am until 6pm. Two of the Verpilleaux paintings which used to hang on the walls of the upper floor of the Town Hall prior to Hurricane Fabian will be cleaned and put on display in an effort to raise funds to clean the rest. These paintings depict Bermuda in the early 1930s.
Bermuda Heritage Museum will hold a tea in memory of Bermuda’s National Hero Mary Prince from 4pm to 6pm. The event will be held on the lawn near the museum, at the Eastern end of Water Street overlooking the harbour and will feature a power point presentation on Mary Prince’s life. The tea will be reminiscent of tea of Mary Prince’s time using the utensils of the time.
St George’s Dinghy and Sports Club will hold dinghy races in the harbour. The race for the E R Williams Cup starts at noon; the second race for the Middleton Cup takes place at 1.30pm and the third race for the Trott Cup starts at 3pm.
