Fort St. Catherine

 military, place with historical importance, fortification, tourist attraction

An eastern fort in St. George's Parish, the biggest of all Bermuda's many historic forts, easily one of Bermuda's most spectacular attractions. It was one of early Bermuda's fortifications against the Spanish, French - and, much later, the Americans. The coastal and inland views from here are awesome. The fort, overlooking the beach where Bermuda's first involuntary settlers came ashore from the shipwrecked Sea Venture flagship in 1609, is nearly two miles north east of the town of St. George. It is the fort principal structure in Bermuda under the management of the Bermuda Government's Curator of Forts. It is not known after which Saint Catherine the fort was named. The fort dates back to 1614, when first built by Governor Richard Moore to defend Gates Bay where the colonists landed.

Nathaniel Butler (Governor 1619-1622) wrote in his memoirs that on the north side of St. George's island is erected upon a rock the small fort of St. Katherine, in guard of a certain sandy bay, being the same whereon the first that ever landed in those parts first set their feet. The second life for Fort St. Catherine began at an unknown date, the only evidence surviving in a survey in the Public Archives Canada and in the 1783 report by Simon Fraser, RA. It appears to have been built to the rear of the original fort, which may have been left as a watchtower. In 1793, Captain Andrew Durnford, a Royal Engineer stationed in Bermuda, strengthened the battery at St. Catherine's Point and built a new battery with a guardhouse on the hill behind the fort. Durnford was a very busy man having sired a second family of six in Bermuda while his wife was at home in Britain with the earlier brood. He built a number of local forts and become the first mayor of St. George's. The present fort dates from 1814. Major Thomas Blanchard replaced the upper battery with a circular fort in the 1820s. Once the Dockyard was started, a number of the forts took on new lives and Catherine was entirely rebuilt on a design by Capt. Thomas Cunningham.. A battery for five guns to the seaward of the Keep was positioned in that fourth life of the fort. In the 1840s, Governor Reid was distressed to hear that "a mulatto woman, the former cook" of Major Durnford had sold 40 of his Bermuda fort plans to the Americans. Also in the 1840s, Fort St. Catherine was remodeled with the enclosing of the shoreline with a huge rampart that joined the ends of the ditch. This fifth incarnation is seen in the watercolour of 1857 from the Fay and Geoffrey Elliott Collection at the Bermuda Archives. There was a massive reconstruction from 1865 to 1878. It included 25 foot thick concrete embrasures and casemates, so that the fort could be rearmed with five rifled 18 ton muzzle loading cannons. In its sixth life, the fort was rearmed for the last time in the 1870s with Rifled Muzzle Loaders, but the 18-ton guns were tossed over the ramparts in the early 1900s. They could send a 400 pound shell half a mile to pierce 11 inches of solid iron. It was a training ground for local forces and the British Army in the early 1900s. In World War 2, an American magnetic loop was installed at the fort.
The present fort is the seventh and last built on the site. It is the first major landmark seen by cruise ship visitors when they first arrive off Bermuda. The main shipping lane is a few cable lengths north. It is how cruise ships and other vessels arrive and depart. It is beyond the reach of Bermuda's public transportation bus system but accessible via a local mini bus or taxi, or rented moped. The fort has cannons, tunnels, ramparts and a drawbridge over a dry moat. Even more armament was added later, to defy an enemy who never came. In its heyday, it was the ultimate Bermuda fortress to deter enemies.

In its seventh life in the late 1950s, the fort became a "tourist attraction", in an effort by the-then tourism authority, the Trade Development Board (TDB). Guns were brought to the site from Fort Albert, instead of taking the originals out of the sea and off St. Catherine's Beach. Noted American actor the late Charlton Heston was lured to Bermuda by the TDB. starred as Macbeth in a spectacular floodlit production of the Shakespearean play staged on the ramparts. Unhappily, he suffered from a chronic case of road rash after falling from a rented moped while sightseeing before one of his performances. But he didn't cancel - instead, his buttocks and thighs were creamed with a soothing lotion applied by a blushing local lady.

In the fort's Old Artillery Store, see the dioramas depicting Bermuda's earliest history. The Powder Magazine, now restored to 19th century war readiness, offers audio exhibits and an antique weapons collection. The Keep has an audio visual show on Bermuda's many other forts and their history, as well as records of the many British regiments that once garrisoned Bermuda. There is a small admittance fee to the fort. To date, in non British flags, only the flag of the State of Maine has been flown, for a specific photo opportunity well publicized in Maine. The Fort is also available for group tours, special events, receptions and corporate functions.

The fort re-opened on February 14, 2000 after a five month closure from considerable structural damage caused to below it by sea erosion in a 1999 hurricane. Features include a large video screen in the theater, new mannequins in the exhibition area and George, the resident ghost. Beyond the reach of Bermuda's public transportation bus system, it's accessible if you take the local mini bus or take a taxi, or a rented moped.

Has some of its original armament and serves as the main museum documenting the military history of Bermuda.

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