Flatts Village is a small settlement in Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, lying on the southern bank of Flatt's Inlet

Flatt's Inlet, Bermuda

Flatt's Inlet is a small channel in Bermuda which joins Harrington Sound with the Atlantic Ocean. It lies almost exactly between the territory's two municipalities, Hamilton and St...

 in Hamilton Parish

Hamilton Parish, Bermuda

Hamilton Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It was renamed for Scottish aristocrat James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton when he purchased the shares originally held in the Virginia Company by Lucy, Countess of Bedford.It is located in the northwest of the island chain, and is...

, almost exactly between the territory's two incorporated municipalities, Hamilton

Hamilton, Bermuda

Hamilton is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination.-Geography:...

 and St. George's

St. George's, Bermuda

St. George's , located on the island and within the parish of the same names, was the first permanent settlement on the islands of Bermuda, and is often described as the third successful English settlement in the Americas, after St. John's, Newfoundland, and Jamestown, Virginia. However, St...

.

History

It is one of the earliest settled areas in Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

. Although the entrance to the inlet is now too shallow, due to sand, to allow entrance to large vessels, it was once a useful harbour. Its primary utility is often said to have been that it was remote from the old Capital, St. George's, and the customs officers located there. The Island's parliament

Parliament of Bermuda

Parliament has two chambers. Originally, there was only one, the House of Assembly, which held its first session in 1620, making Bermuda's Parliament amongst the World's oldest legislatures. An appointed Privy Council originally performed roles similar to that of an upper house, and of a cabinet...

 occasionally met in Flatts, historically, although the official seat of government remained the State House

State House, Bermuda

The State House in St. George's was the first purpose-built home of the House of Assembly, which then constituted the only chamber of the Parliament of Bermuda. Other than fortifications, it was Bermuda's first stone building...

, in St. George's until moving to Hamilton in 1815. A number of former warehouses and prominent homes survive in Flatts Village to speak of its more prosperous and active past.

Flatts Bridge crosses the inlet at the settlement, and the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo is located opposite, on the north side of the inlet. The former Aquarium Station of the defunct Bermuda Railway

Bermuda Railway

The Bermuda Railway was a common carrier line that operated in Bermuda for a brief period . In its 17 years of existence, the railway provided frequent passenger and freight service over its length spanning most of the archipelago from St...

is now a small museum about the railway's history, open at irregular hours.

The settlement is the site of the Flatts Festival, which occurs every October.

32°19′12"N 64°44′15"W