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 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...

in the South

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. It is the second-most heavily populated district on the island and is located on its northwestern coast.

Description

Terrain in the district is quite varied with steep ridges and a limited amount of flat ground, as befits the island's volcanic origin. It is mainly rural and lacks any main settlement as there are many small villages dispersed throughout. Its population has fluctuated from 795 in 1998 to 908 in 2008 and 843 in 2016. It trails only

Half Tree Hollow 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 i ...

District in size. The district is named after the Anglican St Paul's Cathedral, which is located there, and also within the district is

Plantation House A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

, the Governor's official residence. The island's only secondary school is situated in St Paul's — the Prince Andrew School.

History

When the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

occupied St Helena in December 1672, they made their first landing attempt at Lemon Valley Bay, but were beaten off with boulders and rocks thrown by the defenders from the heights on the sides of the valley. After the English recaptured it in May 1673, the mouth of the Lemon Valley was quickly fortified to better deter any future attempts. By 1717 the fort there was ruinous and a

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

station was built further up the valley to house the slaves recently received from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

that had

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. The fortification in Lemon Valley were allowed to continue to deteriorate until they were replaced by entirely new buildings 50-odd years later.Denholm, p. 29–32 Francis Plain (16261769307).jpg, Francis Plain Prince Andrew School (16264718467).jpg, Prince Andrew School Plantation_House_(16431883766).jpg,

View of the sea from Plantation House.jpg, view from Plantation House St Paul's Anglican Cathedral (16468521732).jpg, Saint Paul's Cathedral Boer Prisoner of War Cemetery in Knollcombes Saint Helena.jpg, Boer Prisoner of War Cemetery in Knollcombes from below Farm near Rosemary Plain, Saint Paul's.jpg, near Rosemary Plain View of the old guardhouse at Lemon Valley Bay.jpg, guardhouse at Lemon Valley Bay Lemon Valley from the sea.jpg, Lemon Valley from the sea Old quarantine building in Lemon Valley back view.jpg, ruins of the old quarantine station

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Districts of Saint Helena Populated places in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha