The Castle is the main government building of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, located in Jamestown on the island of Saint Helena. A Grade I-listed building, the oldest parts of the complex date to 1708, but it was largely reconstructed in the 1860s because of termite damage. It does not have the appearance of a typical castle, though historically the site was part of the East India Company fortifications of Jamestown.
Governor John Roberts ordered the construction of the Castle in 1708 on the site of the previous triangular James Fort, close to James Bay. The fort was rebuilt over the next several years to extend across the entire seaward mouth of James Valley and the Castle was immediately behind it to the east. It replaced the decrepit Fort House as the official residence of the governor of Saint Helena and also housed the island's administrative offices. It was a modest one-storey building with a low basement; an upper storey was added in 1776. The Castle was rebuilt in 1867 to repair termite damage and has remained essentially the same ever since. [1]
Plantation House, in the District of Saint Paul's, became the governor's official residence in 1792, [2] although the Governor's office remains in the Castle. [3] Most of the main administrative offices of the colony, including the Chief Secretary’s, are in the Castle [4] and the Legislative Council meets in the Council Chamber on the second floor. Also part of the complex are the Printing Office, Savings Bank and the colony's archives. [5] Only the foyer is open to the public. [4]
Saint Helena is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. Saint Helena is a remote volcanic tropical island 1,950 km (1,210 mi) west of the coast of south-western Africa, and 4,000 km (2,500 mi) east of Rio de Janeiro in South America.
Saint Helena has a known history of over 500 years since its recorded discovery by the Portuguese in 1502. Claiming to be Britain's second oldest colony, after Bermuda, this is one of the most remote settlements in the world and was for several centuries of vital strategic importance to ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa. Since the early 19th century, the British occasionally used the island as a place of exile, most notably for Napoleon Bonaparte, Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo and over 5,000 Boer prisoners.
Jamestown is the capital city of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, located on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is also the historic main settlement of the island and is on its north-western coast. Before the development of the port at Rupert's Bay, it was the island's only port and the centre of the island's road and communications network. It was founded when colonists from the English East India Company settled on the island in 1659 and was briefly occupied by the Dutch East India Company in 1673 before being recaptured. Many of the buildings built by the East India Company in the 18th century survive and give the town its distinctive Georgian flavour.
Middle Plantation in the Virginia Colony was the unincorporated town established in 1632 that became Williamsburg in 1699. It was located on high ground about halfway across the Virginia Peninsula between the James River and York River. Middle Plantation represented the first major inland settlement for the colony. It was established by an Act of Assembly to provide a link between Jamestown and Chiskiack, a settlement located across the Peninsula on the York River.
The Governor of Saint Helena is the representative of the monarch in Saint Helena, a constituent part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The current governor of Saint Helena has been Nigel Phillips since 13 August 2022.
Half Tree Hollow is the smallest by area of the eight districts of the island of Saint Helena, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a suburb of Jamestown and is situated at the top of Ladder Hill which forms the southern side of the James Valley, at the base of which sits Jamestown. The hill was fortified in the late 1700s and Ladder Hill Fort was subsequently built. The village grew during the 1960s because the James Valley lacked any room for expansion.
Historic Jamestown is the cultural heritage site that was the location of the 1607 James Fort and the later 17th-century town of Jamestown in America. It is located on Jamestown Island, on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia and operated as a partnership between Preservation Virginia and the U.S. National Park Service as part of Colonial National Historical Park.
Blue Hill is one of eight districts of the island of Saint Helena, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is sparsely populated and comprises the western third of the island. The district is entirely agricultural with no industrial activity.
Jonathan is a Seychelles giant tortoise, a subspecies of the Aldabra giant tortoise ; he is the oldest known living land animal. Jonathan resides on the island of Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Alarm Forest is the newest of the eight districts of the island of Saint Helena, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is located southeast of Jamestown, in the interior of the island, and is the only district to lack a coastline.
St. Paul's is one of eight districts of the island of Saint Helena, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the second-most heavily populated district on the island and is located on its northwestern coast.
The Battle of St. John's was the French capture of St. John's, the capital of the British colony of Newfoundland, on 1 January 1709 [O.S. 21 December 1708], during Queen Anne's War. A mixed and motley force of 164 men led by Joseph de Monbeton de Brouillan de Saint-Ovide, king's lieutenant to Philippe Pastour de Costebelle, the French governor of Plaisance, quickly overwhelmed the British garrison at St. John's, and took about 500 prisoners.
High Knoll Fort is a redoubt-style fort of the English East India Company on Saint Helena, an island and British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. High Knoll is 584 metres (1,916 ft) above sea level and is approximately one mile (1.6km) south of historic Lower Jamestown. Reopened on 18 December 2010, it is now a tourist attraction for visitors, especially those on the tourist ships that come in the summer.
The politics of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha operate under the jurisdiction of the government of the United Kingdom. The three parts of the territory—Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha—effectively form an asymmetric federacy and collectively constitute one of United Kingdom's fourteen overseas territories.
Jacob's Ladder is a Grade I listed staircase leading from Jamestown, Saint Helena, up the side of Ladder Hill to Ladder Hill Fort. The name is a reference to the biblical Jacob's Ladder, a ladder extending to heaven.
Sandy Bay is one of eight districts of the island of Saint Helena, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. Located on the island's southeastern coast, it is sparsely populated and is a popular recreation site.
Plantation House is the official residence of the governor of Saint Helena. It is located 3.6 km (2.2 mi) to the south of the capital, Jamestown, on the island of Saint Helena.
Saint James' Church is an Anglican church on the island of Saint Helena and is part of the Diocese of St Helena. It is situated in the capital Jamestown and is the oldest Anglican Church in the southern hemisphere; the present building was put up in 1774.
Trade unions in Saint Helena emerged in the late 1950s in the flax industry and subsequently played a prominent role in the island's democratisation in the 1960s. The Saint Helena General Workers Union was the island's sole trade union throughout the latter half of the 20th century. In the 21st century, workers are mostly organised in the public sector in staff associations for nurses, teachers and public servants.
The Dutch invasion of Saint Helena took place in January 1673, capturing the South Atlantic island from the English East India Company (EIC). The Dutch had previously settled the island but abandoned it for their colony at modern-day Cape Town. The Cape proved an inferior anchorage so the Dutch took advantage of the Third Anglo-Dutch War to seize Saint Helena, with little resistance from the EIC garrison.
