“INFERNAL HOLE”
TO ANTIGUA’S JEWEL IN THE CROWN
Five years of UNESCO World Heritage status for Nelson’s Dockyard
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Looking today at the beautifully restored Georgian buildings with a dazzling blue sky above and azure waters beyond, and it is hard to understand British hero and namesake Horatio Nelson’s description of the dockyard as an “infernal” and “vile” hole when posted to Antigua over two centuries ago. It is also hard to understand why it took until 2016 for the world’s only working and beautifully preserved Georgian dockyard to gain World Heritage status, to which, as even UNESCO concluded, there is nothing comparable in the region. Being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site can be a very long and often arduous process, with some sites around the globe waiting near on 25 years to gain status. To be inscribed on the list, a place or structure must be of “outstanding universal value” and have cultural, historical and/or natural significance - all of which the dockyard has in spades. Thanks to the unwavering commitment of celebrated local historian, Dr Reg Murphy, who together with his team, wrote and submitted the successful nomination dossier to UNESCO, and testament to the efforts of the National Parks
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THE CITIZEN
Authority (NPA), stewards of the dockyard for over 35 years, Antigua & Barbuda joined the prestigious list of other international historical hotspots across the globe five years ago. As one of the Caribbean’s best examples of historic preservation, Antigua’s Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites certainly ticks the boxes of UNESCO’s requisites to become a World Heritage Site, although unsurprisingly, a lot has changed since Nelson’s time. As the lynchpin in Antigua’s tourism product, in addition to its immaculately restored historic buildings, it is now home to spectacular yachts, world-class restaurants, boutiques, the world-renowned
Antigua Sailing Week and was voted as Best Attraction in the Caribbean by USA Today readers to boot. Nelson’s Dockyard’s rich history dates back to the early 18th century when the British Royal Navy recognised the strategic importance of the harbour both as a natural hurricane hole as well as a convenient place to monitor their enemy France’s naval activity. At this time, Caribbean sugar was funding the British Industrial Revolution and the sugar plantations in the region had to be protected at all costs. As well as this, the dockyard grew from strength to strength since it was also the only harbour in the region that had the capacity to carry out naval ship repairs.
