The historic headquarters of the Bermuda National Trust was tented to deal with a termite infestation.

Karen Border, the BNT executive director, said the tent, put on by Bermuda Pest Control, over Waterville in Paget was expected to be completely removed today and that the building would fully reopen on Monday.

Ms Border added: “It’s a very old building and, like many old buildings, we need to tent it some times to preserve them.

“The next step is to move on to repainting the exterior – we have to do what we can to maintain these historic buildings and keep them in good order.”

Waterville was built in the mid 18th century for John Trimingham, a judge, after he married 17-year-old Elizabeth Jones.

The original building was extended several times and John and Elizabeth’s grandson, James Harvey Trimingham, built the house’s distinctive wooden front porch early in the 19th century.

The house remained in the Trimingham family until 1962, when it was bought by the Bermuda Historical Monuments Trust, the forerunner of the BNT.