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Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park
Everton picked us up promptly at eight thirty to take us to the fort.
Supposed to be one of the most impressive, with amazing views. We got there at
nine, place opened at nine thirty, never been that early as a tourist before.
Gave us a chance to chat to a security man about cricket, monkeys, islands we
could see and general chit-chat. I wondered why Bear was not leaping at his
usual 'button pressing' on this cannon. Well his new thing is being bitten by
red ants. I think he is trying to take my crown - I was the one bitten by a
falling soldier ant on my left bazooka, so the odd one on the feet is no
challenge - YET. So far it was a nest in Grenada, a nest in Montserrat now here
on his cannon. He is a bit ginger with his little friends now and acts
cautiously around them. So no "button press" here, but a
great view, Bear's nest, quite neat really the
tunnel they built.
 
Finally staff arrive, Caribbean style. My new
friend, the security man came and got me as a "flocking" of Vervet Monkeys appeared (least that's what I thought he
said)
 
.
Cannon were first mounted on Brimstone Hill
in 1690, when the British used them to recapture Fort
Charles from the French. The French had not considered it possible to
transport cannon up the steep and thickly wooded sides of Brimstone Hill. The
British realised the potential of the hill as a place of defence and proceeded
to fortify it. The Fortress was designed by British
military engineers and built and maintained by African
slaves. The construction of the fort then carried on intermittently
for just over one hundred years. In its heyday, the fort was known as 'The Gibraltar
of the West Indies', in reference to its imposing height and seeming
invulnerability. In 1782, the French, under Admiral Comte Francois
Joseph Paul de Grasse laid siege
to the fort. During the siege, the adjacent island of Nevis
surrendered, and guns from Fort
Charles and other small forts there were brought to St. Kitts for use
against Brimstone Hill. British Admiral
Hood could
not dislodge de Grasse and his eight thousand soldiers. The one
thousand defenders made up of Royal Scots and East Yorkshire Regiments, local
militia and escaped slaves fought valiantly and after
a month of siege, these heavily outnumbered and cut-off British
garrison finally surrendered on the 12th of February. The French allowed the
defenders to march out with all the honours of war. However, a year later, the Treaty
of Paris (1783) restored St. Kitts and Brimstone Hill to British
rule, along with the adjacent island of Nevis.
Following these events, the British carried out a program to augment and
strengthen the fortifications, and Brimstone Hill never again fell to an enemy
force. It is one of the best preserved historical fortifications in the Americas.
The fort was abandoned by the British in 1852 after the troops were
reassigned. The structures gradually decayed through vandalism and weathering.
 
Bear had picked up his audio tour gadget- now used in the Who Goes There position from Cindy at the
gate (Oh she reminded me of Julie- more later). Just inside the gate is the
Barrier Reden where four cannon were mounted to protect the road. Through the
first archway and past Magazine Bastion (the massive walls were breached by the
French in 1782) a grassed road leads to the Orillon Bastion.
The Society for the Restoration of Brimstone Hill was founded in
1965. In 1973 HRH Prince Charles reopened the
first area to be completely restored, the Prince of Wales Bastion. Fort George
Museum was set up and in 1985 Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a plaque naming
Brimstone Hill as a National
Park. Legislation in 1987 officially declared National
Park status, the D. Lloyd Matheson Visitors' Centre named in honour
of a former president of the Society was opened in 1992 and the fort was
declared a World Heritage Site in 1999.
Further along the paved road, the ruins of the Royal Engineers' Quarters
can be seen. The road continues past the site of the Adjutant's Quarters then
along the solid walls of the Prince of Wales Bastion, through the second
archway and up to the Parade Ground, now the main parking area. Then we went
into the Visitors' Centre to watch a dvd about the
fort and look at the interesting information displays. The restored
Commissariat building also houses a small gift shop. Opposite is the Warrant
Ofiicers' Quarters also restored.
Below the grassy slopes of Monkey Hill is the ruin
of the Artillery Officers' Quarters (back of
picture), which was once the finest residence of the Fortress, with
spectacular views of the south coast of St Kiits, Nevis and even Montserrat on a
clear day. There is a restored kitchen and stairs lead down to the Officers'
Privy.The Infantry Officers' Quarters was
originally a two storey building, but the upper storey was destroyed by a
hurricane. The Canteen and toilets are a reconstruction of the stone building
which replaced the original top storey. Steps down from the Infantry Officers' Quarter lead to the green tank
once the largest cistern of the Fortress, holding 100,000 gallons of water
collected in the semi-circular catchment. The steps continue down to the Orillon Bastion where the hospital was
located.
 
 
No comment required - but
I got to press as well
 
Magazine Bastion. The
Main Ordnance Store is a building of tremendous strength with some walls
six feet thick. At the cemetery in the Orillon a number of tomb
stones can still be seen
 
The Prince of Wales Bastion was the first building to be completely
restored and housed the Brigade office, the main guard barracks and a powder
magazine. Now it contains the conference / banquet facility which can be hired
for public functions and is a popular wedding venue. The Citadel is the showplace of the Fortress. At the top or the ramp is
the Western Place of Arms with three sentinel 24-pounder cannon overlooking the
Caribbean Sea with breathtaking views all around. As you cross the bridge over the dry moat you
enter the Fort George Museum. Where a variety of artifacts reflect the history
of the Fortress and of the island are displayed in restored barrack
rooms.
The Citadel is an outstanding architectural
and engineering monument. Passing through the Citadel you reach the Eastern
Place of Arms where cannon point to the mountains
After our tour and I forced Bear to give back 'his lady'. I stopped to
chat to Cindy on the gate. I was spooked to begin
with but after ten minutes chatting, told her that if she were white, she
would be Julie at that age -same laugh, same voice. I tried to get her
to smile showing her bottom teeth, but all she could do was giggle (Carolyn can
you see it?). Still reeling off we went again with Everton.
ALL IN ALL AN AWESOME PLACE TO
VISIT
MAGNIFICENT PIECE OF
ENGINEERING
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