English Harbor

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English Harbor
English Harbor (Antigua and Barbuda)
English Harbor
English Harbor
Coordinates 17 ° 1 ′  N , 61 ° 46 ′  W Coordinates: 17 ° 1 ′  N , 61 ° 46 ′  W
Basic data
Country Antigua and Barbuda
island Antigua

Parish

St. Paul
Enumeration District 71800 EnglishHarb-Town, 71900 EnglishHarb-OrdnanceBay, 72000 EnglishHarb-MiddleGround
Residents 759 (2001)
View from Shirley's Heights of Freeman's Bay and Middle Ground, Nelson's Dockyard and English Harbor (center right), Falmouth Bay (in the background) and the eastern Shekerley Mountains
View from Shirley's Heights of Freeman's Bay and Middle Ground , Nelson's Dockyard and English Harbor (center right), Falmouth Bay (in the background) and the eastern Shekerley Mountains

English Harbor is a city in Saint Paul's Parish , on the south coast of the island of Antigua , in the state of Antigua and Barbuda . The place is an important natural harbor for the Caribbean . It is also the capital of Nelson's Dockyard National Park , Antigua's largest national park.

Location and landscape

English Harbor is located on Falmouth Bay , in the center of the Antiguan south coast. To the south is the small Freeman's Bay (Ordnance Bay).

English Harbor is the third largest town in St. Paul with a population of over 750 and is its local center with Falmouth.

The place is divided into the Count Town , Ordnance Bay in the southwest and Middle Ground , the peninsula between Falmouth and Freeman's Bay.

Neighboring locations or locations:
Falmouth Cobbs Cross
Marsh Village
Neighboring communities Dow Hill

history

The place takes its name from the naval port of the Royal Navy , which served as a base for operations in this area in the 17th and 18th centuries. This natural harbor , the safest in Central America, was of extremely high strategic importance. After Parham Harbor (Old North Sound Harbor), it was the second port of the island under colonization; St. John's Harbor , today's main port, developed later. The place itself is younger, the founding place was Falmouth at the north end of the bay. At the beginning of the 19th century there was only port infrastructure here.

The military installations were in Ordnance Bay , the inner Freemans Bay, Falmouth Harbor in the large bay was more like a trading port. The installations were well fortified from a military point of view, at the entrance to the naval port on the Middle Ground (starboard, right) Fort Berkeley , opposite Fort Charlotte . Then the docks (dockyards) followed in the bay to starboard , opposite the position of Capstan Ho Battery , and then distributed magazines and other port infrastructure. The bay facing Falmouth was Falmouth Harbor , which stretched as far as Falmouth. On the heights of the Middle Ground was Fort Cuyler , guarding both bays entrances, below Keanes Battery via Fort Berkeley and Blake's Point Battery on the Cape into Falmouth Bay. The starboard entrance to this larger bay was guarded by Fort Charles on Blake's Islet, north of Deep (Dieppe) Bay and Proctor's Point, the western cape. A watch was on Shirley's Heights to the east, below the Masked Battery position above Freemans Bay . In addition, the fortress Fort George was built further north on Monks Hill, which overlooks the entire bay system.

Economy, infrastructure and sights

English Harbor is a boat and especially a yacht center. There are two protected deep water harbors : English Harbor in the sheltered Freeman's Bay to the south and Falmouth Harbor in the vast Falmouth Bay.

English Harbor is known for the Nelson's Dockyard open air museum . It contains restored buildings and other historical artifacts from the colonial days of the wharf, especially from the time when Horatio Nelson was in command . Also worth seeing is the Clarence House , residence of William, Duke of Clarence , later King William IV, at the time when he was stationed here under Nelson as captain of HMS Pegasus.

Not far away are the Shirley Heights , a tourist attraction that offers a good view of English Harbor. On Saturdays there is a barbecue with local bands.

North of the bay, on Monks Hill , are the ruins of the great Fort George, built in the 17th century . They are within walking distance of Cobbs Cross and offer a good view of Falmouth Bay.

The place has a church, the English Harbor Pentecostal Church .

Panorama over the two natural harbors English Harbor / Freeman's Bay and Falmouth Harbor / Falmouth Bay, out to the open Caribbean towards the southwest.

literature

  • D. Nicholson, Antigua Archaeological Society (Ed.): English Harbor, Antigua: a historical and archaeological sketch. St. John's (Antigua) 1983.

Web links

Commons : English Harbor, Antigua and Barbuda  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b National Statistics Office: Census 2001 , Volume I: Summary Social, Economic, Demographic, and Housing Characteristics , St. John's, July 2004, Table 8 Population by Enumeration District and Sex , 2. St. Paul . P. 32, ab.gov.ag (PDF - longer loading time) there p. 43.
  2. A detailed map of the archaeological sites and monuments can be found: The Caribbean Conservation Association (Ed.): Antigua and Barbuda - Country environmental profile . i. A. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda - Historical, Conservation, and Environmental Commission. St. Michael (Barbados) 1990, Figure 9.1 (3). English Harbor defenses: sites of historical importance induding Nelson's Dockyard. , S. 166 ( usaid.gov 230 pp. [PDF; 10.6 MB ] publ. 1991; there p. 185; follows Ref. Nicholson 1983; on Section 9 Protection of historical / cultural heritage , p. 161 / PDF 180 ff .; Overview map Figure 9.1 (1) Places of historical and cultural interest in Antigua , p. 163 / pdf 182).
  3. ^ English Harbor, Antigua . ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. antigua-barbuda.com; accessed February 12, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.antigua-barbuda.com
  4. Christopher Beale: Antigua and Barbuda: Island Guide . Series Other Places travel guides . Other Places Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-0-615-21837-3 , The Lookout , pp. 73 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  5. ^ Monk's Hill & Fort George . antiguaoutdoors.com