The Valley is the
capital of
Anguilla
Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...
, one of its fourteen
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
, and the main town on the island. , it had a population of 3,269.
History
Historical landmarks
The Valley has few examples of colonial architecture due to the relocation of Anguilla's administration to
St. Kitts in 1825, though
Wallblake House
Wallblake House is a heritage Sugar plantations in the Caribbean, plantation house and museum annex in The Valley, Anguilla, The Valley, Anguilla in the northeastern Caribbean. Built in 1787 by Will Blake, a sugar planter, it is stated to be the ...
, built in 1787, still stands and is used as a
rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
by the adjacent
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
. New shops have opened in new buildings and renovated West Indian-style cottages. Old shops have been modernized and have enlarged their stocks as well as their space.
The ruins of the Old Court House are located on Crocus Hill, the island's highest point. All that remains are the broken walls of a few basement jail cells. At Cross Roads at the western edge of The Valley is Wallblake House, a plantation home built around 1787 that is now owned by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
(the parish priest lives there) and St. Gerard's Catholic Church, with its highly original façade of pebbles, stones, cement, wood and tile.
Geography
Location
The town is located in the middle of the island, in front of
Crocus Bay and nearby
Crocus Hill, the island's highest point. Nearest villages are
North Side,
The Quarter,
North Hill and
George Hill.
Climate
The Valley has a
tropical wet and dry climate (Aw) under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
. The area has a short
dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
that covers the months of February and March, and a
wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...
that covers the remainder of the year. However the wet season, though lengthy, does not quite see the heavy precipitation that is commonplace in other Caribbean cities such as
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
and
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to:
* San Juan, Puerto Rico
* San Juan, Argentina
* San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines
San Juan may also refer to:
Places Arge ...
. Average temperatures in The Valley are relatively constant throughout the year, ranging from 26–29 degrees Celsius.
Demography
Transport
The Valley is served by
Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport (IATA: AXA, ICAO: TQPF) with some international flights.
Education
There are two government schools, Valley Primary School and
Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School (secondary).
[Schools]
" Government of Anguilla. Retrieved on December 7, 2017.
Omololu International School, a primary and lower secondary private school, is in The Valley. It was Anguilla's first private school, and opened in 1994 as the Teacher Gloria Omololu Institute. It adopted its current name on 1 April 2013. It uses the
International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
(IB) curriculum. The name "Omululu" means "Child of God" in the
Yoruba language
Yoruba (, ; Yor. ) is a Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern and Middle Belt, Central Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. ...
.
[History Of Omololu]
" Omololu International School. Retrieved on December 7, 2017.
Notable people
*
Cardigan Connor
Cardigan Adolphus Connor (born 24 March 1961) is an Anguillan born former English cricketer. Connor was a right-handed Batting (cricket), batsman and a right-arm Seam bowling, fast-medium bowler.
Career
Connor left his home island of Anguilla ...
(born 1961), cricketer
*
Carlos Newton (born 1976), mixed martial artist
*
Omari Banks (born 1982), musician and cricketer
*
Zharnel Hughes
Zharnel Hughes (born 13 July 1995) is an Anguilla-born British Sprint (running), sprinter who specialises in the 100 metres and 200 metres. Born and raised in the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla, he has competed internationally for Great ...
(born 1995), sprinter
*
Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers (born 1993), politician and former model
See also
*
Ronald Webster Park
*
St. Gerard Church, The Valley
References
External links
Map of The Valley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valley, The
Populated places in Anguilla
Capitals in the Caribbean
Capitals of British Overseas Territories
Capitals of former nations