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Call Susan Holt on: (0123) 328-0908, or e-mail: sholt@cruiseandtravelholidays.co.uk

St. George's

 

  

The entire town of St. George, with its quaint streets and old buildings, is the attraction, not just one particular monument. Just wander around, do a little shopping, and soak in the atmosphere.  King's Square, also called Market Square and King's Parade, is the center of life in St. George.

 

The street names in St. George evoke its history. Petticoat Lane (sometimes called Silk Alley) reputedly got its name when two newly emancipated slaves paraded up and down the lane rustling their colorful new silk petticoats. Barber's Lane is also named for a former slave. It honors Joseph Hayne Rainey, a freedman from the Carolinas who fled to Bermuda during the Civil War aboard a blockade runner and became a barber. After the war, he returned to the United States and was elected to Congress, becoming the first black member of the House of Representatives during Reconstruction.

 

Historic St. George and its related fortifications are now a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO. The architecturally rich, 400-year-old town joins such select sites as the Great Wall of China, Statue of Liberty, Taj Mahal, and historic center of Florence.

 

As the oldest continuously inhabited town of English origin in the Western Hemisphere, St. George and its surrounding buildings, monuments, and structures illustrate the residents' lifestyles through the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Historic St. George remains in authentic condition, featuring unique and diverse examples of Bermudian architecture spanning the past 4 centuries. The town's various forts are like a textbook illustrating British artillery and the changing styles of fort architecture from 1612 to 1956.