Plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

House is the official residence of the

governor of Saint Helena The Governor of Saint Helena is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the official advice of His Majesty ...

. It is located to the south of the capital, Jamestown, on the island of

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

History

The house was built 1791-2 by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, as a "country" or summer residence for the governor. The company governed the island until 1834, when it became a

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

, although governors of the island have continued to use the property since. Administration of the island is generally carried out from Jamestown, notably at The Castle (historically the governor's residence which then became the "town" residence). An explanation for the location of the governor's official residence is the less arid climate and terrain found further inland, compared to in James Valley. The (summer) residence of the lieutenant governor was

Longwood House Longwood House is a mansion in St. Helena and the final residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, the former Emperor of the French, during his exile on the island of Saint Helena, from 10 December 1815 until his death on 5 May 1821. History Longwood " ...

, also inland from Jamestown. The house was extended most dramatically in 1816 and considerable alterations, mostly external, were made in 1960. The roof was originally

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

but, like with most buildings on the island, this has been replaced with metal sheeting. It is designated as a Grade I listed building. Tours of the state rooms are available by appointment.

Tortoises

Possibly the world's oldest living

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

, named Jonathan, resides in the grounds and belongs to the government of Saint Helena. He potentially could also be the last living example of his species. The grounds are home to at least five giant tortoises and are open to visitors at any time.

Neighbourhood

The house is situated in the district of St Paul's and nearby is

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

, also a Grade I listed building.

References

External links

Saint Helena Island Info, Plantation HouseSaint Helena government
The Tortoises at Plantation House
Flickr
Plantation House in 2010
Plantation House with the old Country Church behind, c. 1812
{{coord, -15.9555, -5.7208, type:landmark_region:SH, display=title Grade I listed buildings in Saint Helena Politics of Saint Helena Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth Official residences Properties of the East India Company Houses completed in 1792 Government buildings completed in 1792