An activist and former Progressive Labour Party MP has condemned the demolition of Watlington House, which had ties to National Hero Mary Prince.

Rolfe Commissiong called the move a “shameful” and “unforgivable“ act by the Government.

The building was spared the bulldozer in 2021 after historians highlighted its past, but the structure was torn down this week. Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, blamed the high cost of maintaining the building for the decision to knock it down.

Responding to the news on Wednesday night, Mr Commissiong said the demolition showed “callous disregard” by the Government of a site that played a seminal role in the life of Mary Prince, whose slave narrative contributed to the abolition of slavery.

“Symbols are important and the destruction of that site says so much about us and that which we truly value,” he said.

“Our government, which is the key custodian of our heritage, has not covered itself in glory on this front.”

Mr Commissiong said the decision to demolish the house would damage Bermuda internationally because of Mary Prince’s stature as a key figure in the campaign for abolition.

He said: “This is not only shameful it is also an act that will not be viewed in a positive light globally because in our interconnected world Mary Prince is recognised around the world now as an historic figure whose account of the evils of chattel slavery played a critical role in raising the consciousness of those in the UK during a critical and defining period of the debate to abolish the practice.”

Mr Commissiong joined calls for the site to be memorialised to benefit present and future generations.

“This was terrible, even unforgivable, as an act of government and an action that was done so cavalierly – but perhaps out of it can come some good,” he added.

“Let us pledge to ensure that our history is taught in our schools, mandated under law and made available to rich and poor alike in both our private and public schools so that we can begin to forge a process of creating a common identity and story.

“In my view this could be an important step in creating the ‘one Bermuda’ that we all claim that we want.

“It’s long overdue and generations have been essentially deprived in the knowledge of that history particularly in our Black community whose story has always been marginalised as was Prince’s story until it was told. We can and must do better in this regard.”

The Ministry of Public Works was contacted about the statement, but has not offered a response as of press time.

However, Colonel Burch defended the decision in an appearance on Magic 102.7, stating that he was at the site when the demolition work began last Wednesday and saw that the structure was in an extremely dilapidated state.

“We are never going to be able to save every building in this country if everybody who is calling for saving buildings are looking to the Government to fund those savings and they don’t offer up two cents towards doing the work,” he said.

“That’s unrealistic, it’s impractical and it’s not going to happen. Whoever sits in this seat is going to have decisions to make like this going forward.”

He said derelict buildings could be dangerous to anyone who goes inside and the structures needed to be insured.

Asked about the creation of some sort of monument at the site, Colonel Burch said: “No one has had any conversations in that regard, but I would have no objection to try to come up with something that commemorated it.”

Anti-racism charity Curb said that it was dismayed to learn that the historic Watlington House was torn down without the public being given an option to save it.

“This demolition is part of a growing list of buildings that are reminiscent of the struggle of Blacks in Bermuda that have been either torn down or allowed to fall into disrepair,” a spokeswoman said.

“Such buildings include the St Phillip AME Church in Tucker’s Town; the Marsden Methodist Church graveyard, also in Tucker’s Town; Lane School on East Broadway; and Wantley House on Princess Street, Hamilton, among others.

“It is true that in the case of Watlington House in particular, it represents a dark period in Bermuda’s history when atrocious and heinous acts were committed by Whites against Blacks.

“Curb, however, takes the view that the preservation of such sites, repurposed as living museums, connects the past with the present, and acts as a constant reminder of an era back to which we will never return.”

The charity hoped that with the building now demolished, a monument would be erected at the site to mark its significance.

In 2021, the Ocean View Golf Club submitted a planning application to tear down an “existing warehouse building” and replace it with a new warehouse.

But Margot Maddison-MacFadyen, of the University of Prince Edward Island, warned in a letter of objection that the building was actually the historic Watlington House.

Dr Maddison-MacFadyen said that early in The History of Mary Prince, the landmark autobiography that contributed to the end of slavery in the British Empire, Ms Prince recalled being told by her young owner that she would be sold.

Ms Prince wrote that she was then taken to Betsy’s “father’s sister” to be prepared for sale by her own mother.

She described the “sorrowful meeting” at the home and recalled her mother telling her: “I am shrouding my poor children; what a task for a mother!"

Dr Maddison-MacFadyen said that based on historical records, the home described was Watlington House, and urged that the structure be protected.

Her letter of objection was one of several received by the Department of Planning, including letters from the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport, the Mary Prince Historical Trust and celebrated local historian Clarence Maxwell.

After the concerns were raised, the plans were changed with the proposed warehouse moved to another location on the Devonshire property.

A report by a planning officer in August 2022 said that because of the change on location there was “no proposal to demolish the existing warehouse”.