New Government House found on line: oghm.org/index.php/history/new-government-house A period of reflection followed during which time members of the Overseas Estates Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London pondered over the fate of Old Government House. The decision was taken to demolish the building and construct a new residence located on the old site. However, local objections demonstrated the importance of the building within the local cultural psyche and after consultation with Virgin Islanders towards the end of the millennium in late 1999, an interested group named “Friends of Old Government House” was formed with a mission to save the building and to build a new Government House alongside the old. Captain Hugh Whistler MBE followed up on these initiatives and produced plans showing how the two buildings were compatible and how Old Government House could be established as a museum, managed and controlled by the resident Governor. Governor Frank Savage helped convince the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that the people really wanted to save Old Government House. With the old building deemed potentially unsafe and with questions being raised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about the Reception Hall, Whistler’s plans for this were sent to London to be checked. Eventually the plans were accepted and, with the approval and help of the Chief Minister the Hon Ralph T. O’Neal OBE, the old building was saved. Whistler then took over as project manager and with the help of several paid contractors, oversaw the significant structural repairs and complete internal transformation that was necessary. At this time volunteers started to assist and many pictures and displays from kind donors were assembled. The Old Government House Management Board was then formed, charged with overseeing the operation of the former residence as a museum. Old Government House Museum was opened to the public late 2002 and today provides a focus of interest for people interested in Virgin Islands history and culture. Meanwhile, contiguous to the original residence, construction began on a new Government House which required a certain amount of demolition to sundry old buildings that were on the proposed development. It was during this process that a wall was uncovered which clearly pointed to a different function for the land it was accommodated upon in the past. The wall, which is similar to many of the eighteenth and early nineteenth-century ruins found throughout the Territory, was constructed of andesite field stone bound together with a lime mortar aggregate. A series of small vertical slits characterised the outside of the wall which fluted inwards creating a much wider opening on the inside of the wall. Research and old maps illustrated that there was once a military barracks on the site and the old wall which had been exposed was part of that facility. The slits in the wall were in fact gun loops through which eighteenth-century soldiers would poke their Brown Bess muskets to defend against any enemy attempting to attack from the rear of the barracks. This wall was preserved and may now be seen behind the reception hall which is part of the new facility. Today New Government House sits contiguous to its predecessor enclosed within approximately one acre of beautifully landscaped gardens, which include a tennis court and swimming pool. The main house consists of five bedrooms and two reception rooms, one of which is an elegantly appointed dining room whose table is laid with crown embossed china. An imposing verandah incorporates the steps leading up to the entrance, where His Excellency the Governor and his wife greet guests on formal occasions. Between the two Government Houses sits a reception hall where ceremonial events take place, attached to which is a large courtyard providing panoramic views of Road Harbour. Although the landscape of Road Town has changed significantly since Edward Cameron and his wife Eva built Cameron Lodge in the late 1880’s, the Governor’s complex still today serves as a reminder of the close ties between the United Kingdom and her former colony, now Overseas Territory, the British Virgin Islands. The Governor regularly hosts receptions at his residence. These are sometimes official state functions and are attended by the members of the current government while on other occasions he holds charity functions attended by diverse groups of individuals from the community.
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 01:34:44 +0000
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