Bermuda's Southampton Parish

1125+ web files in a constantly updated compendium on Bermuda's business, culture, cuisine, customs, districts, economy, education, food, geography, government, history, internet access, laws, parishes, politics, religions, traditions, wildlife etc. For tourists, business visitors, employers, employees, newcomers, researchers, retirees, scholars. Funded by and linked to The Royal Gazette, Bermuda's only daily newspaper.

Bermuda's Southampton Parish

Exploring this county between Warwick and Sandys Parishes

To refer to this particular web file, please use "bermuda-online.org/seesouth.htm" as your Subject.

Accommodation

Recommended properties are shown in bold. Some have the facilities shown by the following symbols. Hotels shown with 5-2 Stars reflect the symbols shown on Expedia.com.

Accommodation symbols

Other symbols

- business center	- business facilities	- Ship view	- dining
- disabled access	- fitness	- golf course	- meeting room
- pool	- public buses	- public ferries	- shopping
- walking area

Introduction

Southampton Parish, on Main Island, is one of the nine parishes each of 2.3055 (two point three zero five five) square miles. It was named after Henry Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southampton (1573-1624), an English aristocrat, one of the most colorful Elizabethans, the patron and friend of William Shakespeare. He served against the Spaniards in the Calais Expedition of 1596 but in 1599 was implicated in the Essex Plot and imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth 1. Set free by King James, he was made a Knight of the Garter. He died in the Low Countries where he had gone as a volunteer once more to fight the tyranny of Spain. Always interested in overseas exploration, he was a member of the Council of the Virginia Company in 1605, the North West Company of 1612. He was one of the gentlemen Adventurers who invested in the newly formed Bermuda Company of 1615. He was the largest shareholder in the original Southampton Tribe.

A basic map of the Parish

The third Earl of Southampton never visited. Early settlers called it Port Royal. This Port Royal pre-dates Port Royal of Jamaica and is why there are several references to it. The bay on the north side became a shipping center before the City of Hamilton was established. This Parish is the second most western in direction and a good distance from the Bermuda International Airport, an expensive taxi ride. From 2001, it will have a stop for Bermuda Government ferry boats. It is served by buses.

Constituencies

Barnes Corner Park

A Bermuda National Park. Added in the latter part of the year 2000. It is 1.74 hectares (4.39 acres). Also the sign on some buses, meaning this is as far as they go.

Boat Bay

This is where the large Sonesta Beach Hotel is situated. But the waters here have a much older claim to fame. The original name for this bay was Hunt's Bay, a grant of land that went north from what was then a cove all the way to the Little Sound. It was then owned by the Hunt family. In 1661, the ill fated sailing vessel Virginia Merchant became grounded. She was a total wreck and sank there with great loss of life. In 1741, the Spanish privateer Francisco Lopez landed a raiding party here. The Spaniards seized local fishing boats and towed them behind their ship. The local militia and two armed Bermudian sloops arrived too late to retrieve them. They were never heard of again.

Bus routes

Visitors and new residents who use the Bermuda Government pink and blue buses should obtain a free copy of the schedule, to know when the service operates, when it stops and what fares apply.

Chaplin Bay

A South Shore Park Beach named after Charles Chaplin, Lady Oona Chaplin and their family who once owned the Chaplin Estate in nearby Warwick Parish, including this beach partly in both parishes. After Chaplin died, his widow asked for special environmental protection (Zone 34) to protect woodland in return for allowing her to subdivide her estate for homes to be built in the 1990s. But it was cancelled in 2002.

Church Bay

A Bermuda National Park. Number 9 on your Bermuda National Parks and Reserves map. Just off the South Shore, on the South Road, this is a small but beautiful public beach for swimming and snorkeling, with a nice ocean side park and rest area. It's a summertime favorite of locals because of its beauty, with an old fort on the premises including a '1612' date marker, and public conveniences.

Death Valley Field & Playground

A recreational area. The name dates back to the late 1940s and 1950s when many motorists lost their lives on the stretch of the Middle Road in the area.

Evan's Pond

Number 7 on your Bermuda National Parks and Reserves map. A nice nature reserve.

Fairmont Southampton Princess Hotel

Ferry Stop

Se under "Rockaway Ferry Stop" below, George's Bay Road. Built in 2002, now operating daily.

Food stores

Market Place is at Heron Bay at Middle Road. It has a full service grocery store on bus route 8 which will drop you nearby - but not nearly as frequently on a Sunday as a weekday. It sells liquor except on Sunday. But budget in advance for Bermuda prices. They stun many visitors. Bermuda grocery shopping is hugely expensive, especially compared to the USA. What a couple can buy in the USA to last them for a week will be less expensive than buying food in Bermuda for merely two days.

Gibb's Hill Lighthouse

Accessible via Gibb's Hill and Tribe Road # 2, South Road or Bermuda Railroad Trail. It and the park (with a total extended acreage of parkland now of 3.93 hectares or 9.75 acres since the year 2000) are open to the public daily from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. There is a $2.50 admittance charge per adult, but no charge for children under 6. It re-opened in August 2006 after being closed for repairs for ten months. It had been closed to repair damage incurred by Hurricane Fabian in 2003. The repairs included replacement of the system that drives the rotating light, the exterior railing and repainting of both the interior and exterior of the lighthouse.

It towers 117 feet high from Gibb's Hill, 245 feet (35 meters) above the water, with the beacon 362 feet above sea level and the lighthouse itself 35 meters from the base to the lantern. At first it was illuminated with kerosene and wound up to rotate. Today, electricity powers the mechanism. Its maritime light can be seen by ships 40 miles out to sea and by pilots of aircraft up to 120 miles away at 10,000 feet. There is no elevator, instead 185 very steep steps, in 8 flights. Photographs and drawings are displayed on the way up. From there, see how Bermuda is not just one island but many - and appreciate why the lighthouse was built on a high hill inland so its light could be seen by ships at sea to the south and north. In both light and radar surveillance, it plays a key role in safety of ships at sea. Its Swedish built radar system covers the entire western area of Bermuda. It is connected by a microwave link to Harbor Radio (located at Fort George in St. George's Parish), the central facility for ensuring that vessels of all sizes are guided to safety in local waters instead of running aground on any underwater reefs or other hazards.

The most prominent local landmark, it was the second British cast iron lighthouse. After years of debate on whether this site or one on Wreck Hill in Sandys Parish was more suitable, this site won. Testing included flaming barrels of tar. A proposal to have it built went to London in the 1840's. The location of 39 wrecks was cited as what a structure like this might have prevented. Approval was granted.

Plates for the building were constructed in London at a cost of 5,500 pounds sterling, designed by engineer Mr. George Groves, working for the firm of Alexander S. Gordon which was awarded the contract. The plates were shipped to Bermuda, unloaded at Port Royal, hauled overland and up the hill with considerable difficulty. The first was laid on December 12, 1844, with Mr. Groves superintending a team of British engineers. They were led by Lieutenant Colonel Philip Barry who was sent out from England in 1844 as Commanding Officer of the Royal Engineers based in Bermuda. The building was completed in 1845. The structure was officially opened on May 1, 1846 with Groves in attendance. (In later life, he achieved a knighthood and immortality as the editor of the "bible" of classical musicians, the Grove Dictionary, still published today). Legend has it that when the lighthouse first went into operation, residents of the area tossed aside their whale oil lanterns and candles in the belief the big lighthouse would light up their nights forever! Some folks still refer to it the way their mid 19th century forebears did, as the "Parish Lantern."

It was visited in May 1861 by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, during his six-day Bermuda visit; and in 1880 by (another) Prince Albert, 16, and Prince George, 15, sons of the-then Prince of Wales, later, Edward VII), who arrived as midshipmen on HMS Bacchante.

The refreshment and souvenir facility, the Lighthouse Tea Room at the base of the beacon, has an English cream tea menu.

A good book is Bermuda Light - The Story of Gibb's Hill Lighthouse by Michael Dolding. He and his family once lived at what is now the Lighthouse Tearoom Restaurant.

Golf

The above file gives details of all Bermuda golf courses. This Parish has several good ones.

Great Sound

The beautiful, large, body of water going east, all the way to Pembroke Parish. If you take the ferry from the city of Hamilton you'll cross it and enjoy the fabulous seascapes. Or you can rent a sailboat and get closer to many small, fascinating islands. Alternatively, take one of the big cruise boat tours operated by several local companies, with optional extras such as cocktails, dinner cruises, shore parties on an island and more.

Horseshoe Bay

Off South Road, in the South Shore Beach Park.. Bermuda's most famous beach. Rated by USA Today in 2004 as a favorite Valentine's Day getaway for sweethearts.

Islands of the Parish

Bartlett's	Two, just north of Middle Road, Great Sound.
Buck	South of Little Sound, close to north coast of the parish.
Fish Hook	South of East Whale Bay.
Five Star	Also known as Wilson's, 2 acres, one-property residential, Great Sound. Owned and lived on by Curt Engelhorn, the German billionaire.
Haggis	South of Riddell's.
Little Crumb	Between Spectacle and Perot's.
Perot's	Also known as Crumb, and Brush. 7.5 acres, one-property residential, Riddle's Bay area, Great Sound. Historically significant. Owned by billionaire Marion MacMillan.
Spectacle	Next to Perot's, Great Sound.

Jew's Bay Public Wharf

Worth a stop, especially if you're sightseeing by moped (it isn't easily accessible via public transport), for the fine views of the Great Sound. Access it via the main Middle Road. It's clearly sign posted, with its own little lane.

Jobson's Cove

Little Sound

Luke's Farm

Local production of non-organic vegetables is concentrated mostly here, on this 35 acre farm owned by Tom Wadson, 51 in 2003, who has farmed for 27 years. His aim is to go organic by 2005. His output is very good but insufficient to satisfy the needs of locals and visitors. He and his employees work long, hard, hours and have Bermuda's best selection of everything in the local food production area, such as meat, eggs, fruit, herbs of all kinds, salad crops, flowers, vegetables including sweet potatoes. There are organized tours of the farm, which includes sheep and chickens. Greenhouse crops go directly to local restaurants and supermarkets.

Middle Road

The Parish section of this main road is worth exploring by bus (the #8 route) or moped in Monday to Friday non rush hours. Going east from Overplus Lane (the boundary of Sandys and Southampton Parishes), you'll parallel the Bermuda Railroad Trail (see separate mention) for quite a way, enjoy the same views, pass the entrance to the famous Port Royal Golf Course, more rural scenery, interesting side roads, the Southampton Princess Hotel on the hill to the right, and the Waterlot Inn to the left. After more great sea and land views, you'll reach the boundary with Warwick Parish at the Heron Bay Plaza and the road to Riddle's Bay.

Morgan's Point

From 1941 to 1995 one of the US Military Bases in Bermuda. Unfortunately, it has been off limits to all visitors and locals since May 30, 1995. Named after Morgan's Island located here until bulldozed to build the sprawling US Naval Annex during World War II which closed in 1995, it covers 250 acres. It is the last remaining large development opportunity for an integrated resort and commercial complex in Bermuda. It has spectacular views across the Great Sound with 5,300 meters of waterfront. The mainland area is 190 acres, with 60 acres on the peninsular joined by a causeway. The peninsular projects into the Great Sound and is all flat land.

The Bermuda Government claims the US Navy pumped raw sewage into the system of caves underneath the entire base, including Bassett's Cave; allowed old oil to leak from storage tanks; and left tons of hazardous heavy metals like mercury, lead and cadmium. Cleaning up the mess and pollution left behind after the military base closed, plus the huge potential contingent liability afterwards, is one reason why the area has not been developed yet. In 1996, at the request of the-then Bermuda Government, an American organization, JA Jones Environmental Services of North Carolina, estimated the clean-up cost as $16 million. The Bermuda Government expects the company to be given the contrast to develop the site to be responsible for the clean-up but no organization wants this responsibility.

Like the former Fort Bell/USAAF/Kindley AFB/USNAS complex, this former base is now owned by - and the responsibility of - the Bermuda Land Development Company, a Bermuda Government-owned entity.

There have been three failed bids to redevelop the area on a leasehold basis. The first was from British based Renaissance Resorts International Ltd. It won the bid but failed to act. The second was from Morgan's Harbour Investment Ltd. It too won the bid but also failed to act in 1999. The third was from BEAM Ltd. The $250-$300 million project was expected to create 220 jobs in the first two years of development and 350 more thereafter. It was to have included a PGA championship 18 hole golf course - for which two plans were drawn up by famous golfers; a community village; cottage colony; housing, with a range of medium and high priced homes; and marina in two phases, to include coastal protection works; an environmental cleanup; installation of electricity, water, telecommunications and sewage treatment facilities and public parks. But nothing happened. Announced on October 24, 2003 was the news that the Bermuda Government, instead of all previous projects, intended to turn Morgan's Point into Bermuda's fourth residential hub, after Hamilton, St. George's and Southside in St. David's. But that too stalled. Environmental clean-up costs at the massive former Base are often cited as the reason for lack of interest in the property. In 2002 it was estimated that cleaning up the former US Naval Annex would cost $30 million.

Morgan’s Point today is the largest piece of unutilized land in Bermuda. The former US Naval Annex remains a desolate out-of-bounds peninsula more than ten years after the US military left. Part of the legacy is the pollution caused during its previous use. The cost of cleaning up the site so that it can once more be safely used by the public is a matter of debate, but probably $60 million or more are expected to be needed to make the area environmentally safe.

In April 2008, after Southlands Ltd agreed to a swap of land from its Southlands Estate in Warwick Parish to here instead, a two-phase five-star hotel resort here has been planned. The Bermuda Government has confirmed that a deal had been reached with Southlands Ltd. to relocate the planned 900-room development from its original South Shore location to a brownfield site on this former US Naval Air Station in Southampton. It also revealed that the development will include a private residence club and championship golf course. The developers were given 80 acres of land on the new site after agreeing to hand over its 37 acres of open space.

Pompano Beach Club

Port Royal Tennis Club

Phone 238-9070. At Port Royal Golf Course. there are 4 plexi-pave courts, 2 night lit. Fee-paying.

Princess Park

A small but scenic park nestled in the grounds of the Southampton Princess Hotel, with superb views of the Great Sound.

Queen's View

A panoramic view of the Great Sound from this spot close to Riddell's Bay, at the northern end of Tribe Road # 2. Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh were here in 1995 and she unveiled the plaque shown.

Railway Trail

The Reefs

Restaurants in the Parish

Rising Sun

On the Middle Road, at telephone or fax (441) 238 2154. A retail store nearly opposite some of the western islands of Bermuda. It is somewhat isolated but easily reached and worth the visit. It has many specialty items not found anywhere else in Bermuda and you may be greeted with a free glass of sherry at certain times of the year. There is parking for cars and mopeds across the street.

Rockaway Ferry Stop

The site of Bermuda's new fast ferry stop, completed in March 2002. It cost US$3 million and is just before the entrance to the former (and closed to the public) United States Naval Annex. The ferry stop was built to take the front-loading ferries from April 2002. They cut the journey time from Rockaway and Dockyard to between 17 and 20 minutes in the rush hours, 35 minutes on Saturdays. Contractors built a road to the site through Tribe Road Number 5. The site has 87 parking places for cars, a security officer and a toilet with disabled access.

St. Anne's Church

On South Road and Church Road, a sightseeing attraction and historic Parish Anglican (Episcopalian) church. It claims the oldest baptismal and marriage records in Bermuda, with its first baptism in 1619. It owns a silver chalice marked 1603/4 and inscribed Port Royal Church (as then known). The Rector is Father Michael Davis, ED, JP. The church has its own graveyard.

Sharon Wilson Gallery

At 2 Turtle Place off the South Road and clearly sign posted. Telephone 238-2583 for opening and closing hours, or to meet Sharon herself.

Sonesta Beach Hotel & Spa

Southampton Parish Council

Appointed under the Parish Councils Act 1971. See under "Parish Councils" in Bermuda Government Boards. Appointees are political and meetings are not open to the public, unlike in the United Kingdom, Canada and USA where parish or community councils always are.

South Road

A bus (the # 7 route) or moped tour along this scenic road offers seascapes much of the way. From east to west the Parish part of this main road starts just past Warwick Camp, where it overlooks Chaplin Bay. Continuing west, the road gives you magnificent views - and lookout points to get off the road and park, briefly - over Horseshoe Bay on the seaward side and all the other beach areas of the Parish comprising the South Shore Park and Parklands. Further on, you'll see the Southampton Princess Hotel and Golf Course on the right, the Sonesta Beach Hotel and Spa on its private peninsula on the left, the Reefs also on the left, and much more. Just past Church Bay, the road turns inland, gives you clear views over the Great Sound, then terminates at the junction with the Middle Road.

South Shore Park beaches

Number 11 on your Bermuda National Parks and Reserves map. In order of appearance, they are Port Royal, Horseshoe Bay, Peel Bay, Butt's, Middle, Wafer Rocks, Angle, Hidden, Chaplin Bay and Jobson's Cove. South of the Lighthouse, off the South Shore, Horseshoe Bay has a quarter mile of curved pink sand fringed by limestone cliffs and a park setting north of it. There is a life guard. Get there by bus (number 7 stops on the main road) and then via a walk or a moped or taxi or car, up and down a steep hill.

It often gets lively for special events, such as Bermuda Kite flying on Good Friday. The beach house has an indoor and outdoor restaurant, rest rooms, changing facilities, lockers and showers. It also sells snorkeling gear, flotation devices and more. Peel Bay is just east of and may be accessed via Horseshoe Bay. It is its equal in many respects of its bigger adjacent brother but without the same facilities. Chaplain Bay got the name from the fact that some chaplains, conducting beach side weddings in this perfect spot for such solemn ceremonies, have been known to cast their eyes upward to their Maker and intone with great reverence that this is the part of Heaven they trust will be reserved for them.

Tudor Farm

Operated by the Bermuda Agricultural Group, a Bermuda Government financed organization. Dedicated to preserving Bermuda's agriculture industry and lifestyle. It runs an annual Agricultural Camp. It is an 11 acre farm purchased by the Bermuda Government to preserve the integrity of the largest remaining farm in Bermuda. Secretary, c/o Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, P. O. Box HM 834, Hamilton HM CX. Or fax 293-0176. Registered charity number 475.

Turtle Hill

Where the Southampton Princess Hotel was built. Before that, it was once owned by Sir Nathaniel Rich, one of the original directors and shareholders of the Bermuda Company, from 1615 until his death in 1636. On 7th April 1941, the American Army took it over and it was there sometime before they left in 1945, that a bundle of Bermudian-American mongrels were born. Maybe the lucky seven were "Bermuda spashalls", or "Heinz 57s" depending on the parish dialect, being born in Bermuda but having adoptive American parents, both males. The American leader, Captain (later Admiral) Jules James USN received commendations for his careful and diplomatic handling of the Bermuda Government and the people of the island, unlike the-then Governor of Bermuda.. In another connection with Bermuda, Capt. James was a cousin of Nancy Astor, the first woman elected to the Parliament in London; she was married to a relative of one of the richest men in the world, Vincent Astor, who built a great home on Ferry Reach. (Astor erected the house with his first wife, Helen Huntington, but both likely lost interest in it when the pristine Castle Harbour, their main vista, was destroyed to make Kindley Field). One of the Americans who came to Bermuda at that time was a Captain Charles Beaudry USA, who spent most of the war in Bermuda. He made friends with many Bermudians, and made many pictures of the island, the new military works and Bermuda scenes of the time. Colonel Beaudry donated his photographic collection to the Bermuda Maritime Museum. Along with that of the late Edward Tomasiewicz (acquired by the Museum through the help of Bermudian Spanton Ashdown), it forms a major archive of American activity on the island during the war. By 1939, the several hundred British guns at Bermuda had been reduced to two 6-inch Breech Loaders manned by the Bermuda Militia Artillery at St. David's Battery. Two more such guns were installed that year at Warwick Camp, but with only four weapons island-wide, it was necessary for the Americans to assume the coastal defence of Bermuda and bring in some big guns. Captain Beaudry was in charge of installing some of these pieces, two of which were at Turtle Hill, where a camp, minus any known followers excepting the lucky seven, was soon installed amidst the rolling cedar strewn landscape. On the highest part of the hill, two circular Panama Mounts were built in concrete to take 155mm GPF guns, one appearing inset in a photograph here presented. Similar guns were placed at Cooper's Island, while massive railway guns, mounted on a set of tracks to nowhere, were installed at Scaur Hill and between Forts Victoria and Albert on St. George's Island. A year later, fixed installations replaced the latter and two others were built at Tudor Hill near the Naval Operating Base, where Captain Jules James set up camp at the first American station at Bermuda. At the American Army encampment at Turtle Hill, the facilities included an open-air mess hall. See the surviving Panama Mount gun emplacement which once had a 155mm GPF gun.

West Whale Bay Battery, Beach, Fort, Park

A Bermuda National Park. (Number 8 on your Bermuda National Parks and Reserves map). One of the Forts of Bermuda.

City of Hamilton	Devonshire Parish	Hamilton Parish	Paget Parish	Pembroke Parish
Sandys Parish	Smith's Parish	St. George's Parish	Town of St. George	Warwick Parish