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Nelson's Dockyard is a cultural heritage site and marina in English Harbour, located in Saint Paul Parish on the island of Antigua, in Antigua and Barbuda. It is part of Nelson's Dockyard National Park, which also contains Clarence House and Shirley Heights, and is a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. It is named after Admiral Horatio Nelson, who lived in the
Royal Navy Dockyard Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial c ...
from 1784 through 1787. Nelson's Dockyard is also home to some of Antigua's sailing and yachting events such as Antigua Sailing Week and the Antigua Charter Yacht Meeting, as well as the 2015 and 2016 International Optimist North American Championships.


History

After England acquired colonial
British Antigua and Barbuda The history of Antigua and Barbuda covers the period from the arrival of the Archaic peoples thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Antigua and Barbuda were inhabited by three ...
in 1632, the English Harbour became a focal point for the establishment of a naval base. Its position on the south side of Antigua island facilitated the monitoring of the neighbouring French island of Guadeloupe. Additionally, the harbour is naturally well-suited to protect ships and cargo from hurricanes. In 1671 the first recorded ship to enter English Harbour was a yacht, the ''Dover Castle''. It was chartered to the King by a Colonel Stroude for the use of the Governor of the Leeward Islands when he visited the islands under his jurisdiction and "chased ye pirates". The first reference to the defence of English Harbour occurs in 1704 when Fort Berkeley was listed as one of the twenty forts established around the coast of Antigua. By 1707 naval ships used English Harbour as a station, but no facilities had yet been built for ship maintenance or repair. By 1723 English Harbour was in regular use by British naval ships and in September of that year the harbour gained a reputation as a safe natural harbour when a hurricane swept ashore 35 ships lying in other ports in Antigua, while and , both moored in English Harbour, suffered no damage. Soon British naval officers petitioned for the building of repair and maintenance facilities in English Harbour. In 1728 the first Dockyard, St. Helena, was built on the east side of the harbour and consisted of a capstan house for
careening Careening (also known as "heaving down") is a method of gaining access to the hull of a sailing vessel without the use of a dry dock. It is used for cleaning or repairing the hull. Before ship's hulls were protected from marine growth by fasteni ...
ships, a stone storehouse, and three wooden sheds for the storage of careening gear. There were no quarters for dockyard staff or visiting sailors and the seamen themselves conducted all work and repairs on the ships. Naval operations in English Harbour soon outgrew the small original dockyard and plans were made to develop the western side of the harbour with more facilities.


Construction

Construction of the modern Naval Dockyard began in the 1740s. Enslaved laborers from plantations in the vicinity were sent to work on the dockyard. By 1745 a line of wooden storehouses on the site of the present Copper & Lumber Store Hotel had been built and the reclamation of land to provide adequate wharves had been started. Building continued in the Dockyard between 1755 and 1765, when quarters were built for the Commander-in-Chief on the site of the Officers’ Quarters. Additional storerooms, a kitchen and a shelter for the Commander's “chaise” were also erected. The first part of the present Saw Pit Shed was constructed, the reclamation of the wharves and their facing with wooden piles was continued, and a stone wall was built to enclose the Dockyard. Between 1773 and 1778 additional construction was undertaken. The boundary walls were extended to their present position; the Guard House, the Porter's Lodge, the two Mast Houses, the Capstan House, and the first bay of the Canvas, Cordage, and Clothing Store were built; and the first Naval Hospital was built outside the Dockyard. Many of the buildings in the Dockyard today were constructed during a building programme undertaken between 1785 and 1794. The Engineer's Offices and Pitch and Tar Store were built in 1788 and the Dockyard wall was extended to enclose the new building. The wharves were improved and the northern side of the Saw Pit Shed was built in the same year. In 1789 the Copper and Lumber Store was completed and by 1792 the west side of the Canvas, Cordage, and Clothing Store had been completed. The Blacksmith's Shop also dates from this period. This building programme overlaps with Nelson's tenure in the Dockyard from 1784 to 1787. The Sail Loft was built in 1797 adjacent to the Engineer's Offices and Tar and Pitch Store. Around 1806 the Pay Master's Office was built and in 1821 the Officers’ Quarters building was constructed to accommodate the growing numbers of officers who accompanied their ships to the yard. The Naval Officer's and Clerk's House was built in 1855 and is now home to the
Dockyard Museum The Dockyard Museum is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importan ...
. In 1889 the Royal Navy abandoned the dockyard, and it fell into decay.


Restoration

The Society of the Friends of English Harbour began restoration of the dockyard in 1951, and a decade later it was opened to the public. Among the original buildings are two hotels, a museum, craft and food shops, restaurants, and a large marina. Hiking trails radiate from the dockyard site into the surrounding Nelson's Dockyard National Park.


Media

On May 9, 1982, Duran Duran filmed their "Waiting for the Nightboat" music video in Antigua, in a dry dock in Nelson's Dockyard.


Gallery

Image:Nelson4.JPG,
Figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...
at Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua Image:NelsonAntigua.JPG,
Figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...
at Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua Image:Anchor Nelson.JPG, Ships
anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ ...
at Nelson's Dockyard, with the Officers' Quarters and Canvas, Cordage & Clothing Store behind Image:Nelsondockyard.JPG, Nelson's Dockyard: capstans within the remains of the Capstan House, galley behind Image:Dockyard Museum.jpg, Former Naval Officer's House (now the Dockyard Museum) Image:Boat House Pillars (5916097824).jpg, Remains of former Boat House & Sail Loft, which lost its roof in a hurricane in 1871


See also

* Sir Thomas Shirley, 1st Baronet * Dow's Hill Interpretation Centre


References


External links

*
Why Nelson's Dockyard is Britain's best, colonial Caribbean legacyNelson's Dockyard: from 'vile hole' to national treasureUNESCO listingRoyal Navy Cemetery Antigua Project
{{Authority control History of British Antigua and Barbuda Buildings and structures in Antigua and Barbuda Royal Navy dockyards Saint Paul Parish, Antigua and Barbuda Horatio Nelson Museums in Antigua and Barbuda Protected areas of Antigua and Barbuda Tourist attractions in Antigua and Barbuda World Heritage Sites in the Americas