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Somerset | |
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Village | |
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Coordinates: 32°18′00″N64°52′00″W / 32.30000°N 64.86667°W | |
Country | ![]() |
Parish | Sandys |
Population | |
• Total | 1,000 |
Time zone | GMT |
Climate | Cfa |
Somerset Village is a small, unincorporated village in the northwest area of Bermuda, located in Sandys Parish. It lies in the northern half of Somerset Island.
Like Flatts Village and Tucker's Town, the settlement has existed for centuries, though a lack of formal borders and municipal government means its foundation is undated, and when, precisely, the area came to be commonly thought of as a village is not clear.
The village centres on the southern shore of Mangrove Bay, and was once a useful, if minor port. Today, the area includes a bank, a police station, post office, ferry station (on the Great Sound, beside Watford Bridge), library, a number of shops, small hotels, pubs and restaurants, and a boat club. There is also a bus depot as the village is the terminus of a number of bus routes. There is a small beach at the west of the village, and another at nearby (Somerset) Long Bay (there are two other Long Bays in Bermuda) is within walking distance.
The village is conveniently near to the defunct Royal Naval Dockyard on Ireland Island (part of a former naval base that began on the opposite end of Watford Bridge), and is connected to the City of Hamilton, as well as the Dockyard, by regular ferries. The village is the site, each summer, of the Non-Mariners' Race, a humorous non-race by deliberately unseaworthy floats.
Somerset Cricket Club and its football team Somerset Trojans play at the Somerset Cricket Club Field.
Coordinates: 32°18′00″N64°52′00″W / 32.30000°N 64.86667°W
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 1,035 km (643 mi) east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina ; 1,236 km (768 mi) south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia; 1,759 km (1,093 mi) northeast of Cuba, and 1,538 km (956 mi) due north of the British Virgin Islands. Though it is typically referred to in the singular, Bermuda consists of 181 islands; the largest of these islands is known as Main Island. The capital city of Bermuda is Hamilton. Bermuda is internally self-governing, with its own constitution and cabinet of ministers selected from the elected Members of the lower house of a Parliament that enacts local laws. As the national government, the Government of the United Kingdom is ultimately responsible for ensuring good governance within British Overseas Territories, and retains responsibility for defence and foreign relations. As of July 2018, it has a population of 71,176, making it the most populous of the British overseas territories. Bermuda's largest industries are offshore insurance, reinsurance, and tourism. Bermuda had one of the world's highest GDP per capita for most of the 20th century.
Bermuda consists of several islands with an area of 53.2 km2 (20.5 sq mi) with 447 km (278 mi) of paved roads — 225 km (140 mi) of which are public roads and 222 km (138 mi) are private paved roads. A former railway track has been converted into a walking trail. There are also two marine ports, and an airport, the L.F. Wade International Airport, located at the former U.S. Naval Air Station. A causeway links Hamilton Parish, Bermuda to St. George's and the airport.
While Bermuda technically remains the responsibility of the government of the United Kingdom, rather than of the local Bermudian Government, the island still maintains a militia for the purpose of defence.
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred 42 miles (68 km) from central London. It has an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. Sheppey is derived from Old English Sceapig, meaning "Sheep Island".
Gosport is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 91,544. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite the city of Portsmouth, to which it is linked by the Gosport Ferry. Gosport lies south-east of Fareham, to which it is linked by a Bus Rapid Transit route and the A32. Until the last quarter of the 20th century, Gosport was a major naval town associated with the defence and supply infrastructure of Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth. As such over the years extensive fortifications were created.
The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the two combined to form the North America and West Indies Station. It was briefly abolished in 1907 before being restored in 1915. It was renamed the America and West Indies Station in 1926. It was commanded by Commanders-in-Chief whose titles changed with the changing of the formation's name, eventually by the Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station.
The Bermudian Premier Division is the highest level of professional football in Bermuda.
A variety of sports are played in Bermuda, from those brought by British and International relations, to those popularised nationally. Some sports and events have greater historical and cultural significance whilst others are played for entertainment or competition.
Sandys Parish ( "sands") is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for English aristocrat Sir Edwin Sandys (1561–1629), and hence there is no apostrophe in the name.
Devonshire Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. Originally named Cavendish Tribe and later Devonshire Tribe, for William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire (1552–1626). Devonshire Redoubt, on Castle Island, one of the Castle Harbour fortifications of St. George's Parish, was also named after him.
Ireland Island is the north-westernmost island in the chain which comprises Bermuda. It forms a long finger of land pointing northeastwards from the main island, the last link in a chain which also includes Boaz Island and Somerset Island. It lies within Sandys Parish, and forms the northwestern coast of the Great Sound. It is regarded as one of the six principal islands of Bermuda, and part of the West End of the archipelago.
Boaz Island, formerly known as Gate's Island or Yates Island, is one of the six main islands of Bermuda. It is part of a chain of islands in the west of the country that make up Sandys Parish, lying between the larger Ireland Island and Watford Island, with which it has been joined by a man-made isthmus. South of Watford Island is Somerset Island. Boaz and Watford are connected to Somerset by Watford Bridge, and to Ireland by Gray's Bridge. Watford's east coast forms part of the edge of the Great Sound. The western end of the channel between Boaz and Watford was blocked by the isthmus, creating a camber that opens to the Great Sound. Boaz and Watford Islands were parts of the Royal Naval base, which included the HM Dockyard on Ireland Island.
Hamilton Harbour is a natural harbour in Bermuda which serves as the port for the capital, the City of Hamilton. It is an arm of the Great Sound, and forms a tapering wedge shape of water between Paget Parish and the peninsula which forms Pembroke Parish, and upon which the capital sits.
The Causeway is a narrow strip of reclaimed land and bridges in the north of Bermuda linking Hamilton Parish on the mainland in the southwest and Bermuda International Airport on St. David's Island in St. George's Parish in the northeast, which are otherwise divided by Castle Harbour.
The following is a list of places of interest in Bermuda.
HMD Bermuda was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. Bermuda had occupied a useful position astride the homeward leg taken by many European vessels from the New World since before its settlement by England in 1609. French privateers may have used the islands as a staging place for operations against Spanish galleons in the 16th century. Bermudian privateers certainly played a role in many British wars following settlement. Despite this, it was not until the loss of bases on most of the North American Atlantic seaboard threatened Britain's supremacy in the Western Atlantic that the island assumed great importance as a naval base. In 1818 the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda officially replaced the Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax as the British headquarters for the North America and West Indies Station.
RNAS Bermuda was a Royal Naval Air Station on Boaz Island, Bermuda. The station became the primary base for the Royal Navy in the North-West Atlantic following American independence. It was the location of a dockyard, an Admiralty House, and the base of a naval squadron.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the British Overseas Territory of the Bermuda Islands.
Watford Island is an island of Bermuda.