THE historic buildings of Devonshire, and the stories behind them, were brought to life this week, courtesy of the Bermuda National Trust.

Written by Andrew Trimingham, is the second edition of the first volume of the Trust's Bermuda Architectural Heritage series.

"I am not the author of this book, only the writer," Mr. Trimingham states in its foreword. "The real authors are the researchers without whose dedicated work this book might have been written anyway, it would just have been very dull indeed."

Dedicated to the many volunteers who worked on the Trust's Historic Buildings Survey, enables a glimpse of the unique architecture of the parish.

"It is nine years since the first edition of this book was produced," said Margaret Lloyd, Trust member and a contributor to the second edition. "Most of the original researchers are still with the project and new sources are being discovered regularly.

"The team, with the help of former Government Archivist John Adams and the present staff of the Bermuda Archives, has opened up a whole new field in ways to research the history of buildings in Bermuda and has provided information or advice to owners of many properties, even those not included in the series.

"All the new information is incorporated into the National Trust's Historic Buildings Survey, which remains the first point of reference for anyone interested in researching a building.

"The (first edition) book sold quickly and has now been out of print for several years. There have been many requests for a reprint or a new edition and it was difficult to decide which to do.

"But eventually a compromise was decided upon. Many of the photographs have been re-scanned to do fuller justice to Robin Judah's excellent shots, one or two small mistakes corrected and one new piece of information inserted ? that is the most unusual account of the 1876 collapse of the Old Chimneys. It is so rare for this to happen to a building that it was impossible to resist inserting the newspaper report."

The primary purpose of the second edition remains the same as that of the first, but it also offered an opportunity for comparison, Mrs. Lloyd added.

"The primary purpose of the series is to foster public appreciation of Bermuda's wonderful architectural heritage," she explained. "So now is perhaps a good time to consider how Bermuda's buildings have fared in the nine years since the publication of

"The answer is 'mixed'. Several of the buildings featured in the book have suffered badly or have been demolished, and this is much regretted. The record throughout Bermuda is not much better and a number of important buildings have been lost, or so badly altered, that they are in effect, lost.

"On the positive side, the Government in 2000 listed some 700 buildings. This means there is now legislated protection for buildings of architectural or historic interest, so that the Bermuda National Trust is no longer their sole watchdog.

"Such buildings are subject to stricter planning controls than they were before listing and cannot be demolished without planning consent, while free expert advice is available before planning permission is given for their alteration. As such, the listing process had promoted the awareness of historic preservation by owners, architects and real estate people."

is now available at the Trust's Trustworthy stores located in the Old Cellar Lane on Front Street and the Globe Hotel on Duke of York Street in St. George's.