Hamilton Parish, Bermuda
Encyclopedia
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...
. It was renamed for Scottish aristocrat James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton
James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton
James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton and 4th Earl of Arran KG PC , styled Lord Aven from 1599 to 1604, was a Scottish politician. He was the son of John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton....
(1589-1625) 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 split in two by the large Harrington Sound
Harrington Sound, Bermuda
Harrington Sound is a large inland body of water in the northeast of the main island of Bermuda. It is surrounded by the main island on all sides, only appearing open to the ocean via a small channel called Flatt's Inlet in the southwest...
, occupying all but the south and northeastern tip of its coast. The islands within the sound also form part of the parish. It is joined to Smith's Parish
Smith's Parish, Bermuda
Smith's Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for English aristocrat Sir Thomas Smith/Smythe .-Description:...
in the south, and St. George's Parish
St. George's Parish, Bermuda
St. George's Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named after the founder of the Bermuda colony, Admiral Sir George Somers.It is located in the north-easternmost part of the island chain, containing a small part of the main island around Tucker's Town and the Tucker's Town...
in the northeast. As with most of Bermuda's parishes, it covers just over 2.3 square miles (about 6.0 km² or 1500 acres).
Natural features in Hamilton include 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...
, Trunk Island
Trunk Island, Bermuda
Trunk Island is the largest island in Harrington Sound, Bermuda. Its area is , and it contains two houses: a main mansion and a guest cottage. The island has been owned by the Tucker/Gardner family since the early 19th century and was used as a summer camp for Bermudian groups such as Sea Scouts...
, Shelly Bay, Bailey's Bay, Mangrove Lake
Mangrove Lake, Bermuda
Mangrove Lake is - after Harrington Sound - Bermuda's second largest lake. Like many of Bermuda's lakes, it is brackish, as it lies close to the Atlantic Ocean and can be inundated by it in storms....
, Trott's Pond
Trott's Pond, Bermuda
Trott's Pond is a small lake in the northeast of Bermuda. Like many of Bermuda's lakes, it is brackish, as it lies close to the Atlantic Ocean....
, Crystal Cave
Crystal Cave, Bermuda
Crystal Cave is the most famous of Bermuda's many subterranean caverns. It is located in Hamilton Parish, close to Castle Harbor. A tourist attraction since 1907, it was discovered in 1905 by Carl Gibbons and Edgar Hollis, two 12 year-old boys searching for a lost cricket ball. Soon after, the...
, Castle Harbor, and The Causeway
The Causeway, Bermuda
The Causeway is a narrow strip of reclaimed land and bridges in the north of Bermuda linking Hamilton Parish on the mainland in the southwest and Bermuda International Airport on St. David's Island in St. George's Parish in the northeast, which are otherwise divided by Castle Harbour.The need for...
, which links Hamilton with St. George's Parish.
Notable locations in Hamilton include the Bermuda Aquarium and Museum and the small settlement of Flatt's Village
Flatts Village, Bermuda
Flatts Village is a small settlement in Bermuda, lying on the southern bank of Flatt's Inlet in Hamilton Parish, almost exactly between the territory's two incorporated municipalities, Hamilton and St. George's.-History:...
. Historically, the Colony's government had on occasion met in Flatts Village, rather than the then Capital of St. George's. The Village had prospered, in the days when the Colony's economy was seafaring, according to popular accounts, due to its distance from customs officials in St. George's.
Bailey's Bay, on the north shore of the Parish has also long been a thriving community, although it has never attained the status of a municipality. The name is used to denote an area which includes Callan Glen, the shallow depression running North-Eastward from Bailey's Bay (which was named for shipbuilder Claud MacCallan), Coney Island
Coney Island, Bermuda
Coney Island is part of the chain which makes up Bermuda. It is located in St. George's Parish, in the northeast of the territory.The island cover 14.5 acres , close to the western entrance to Castle Harbor, southwest of the town of St. George's and close to the southern entrance to Ferry Reach....
Walsingham, and that part of the Island running Westward as far as Abbot's Cliff, on the Harrington Sound Shore. The area was long dominated by branches of the Outerbridge family (which includes the MacCallans). Notable landmarks include the Abbot's Cliff, Crystal Caves, and Mount Wyndham, once the location of Admiralty House, and from which the attack on Washington DC in 1815 was planned. Other sites of historical interest in the area include Tom Moore's Tavern (originally a private home, now a restaurant), and the adjacent nature reserve, and the Western end of the Causeway. Other non-municipal 'communal areas' of Hamilton include the area around The Crawl, including Crawl Hill (often referred to by locals as 'Crawl'), and Shelly Bay.