Plantation House is the official residence of the governor of Saint Helena. 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, 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, 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, named

Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

, 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