government information service 1993
Written by Mr Erroll Small - 1993
Government House was built at the end of the last century on the site of an old fort, one of several which had been built around Road Harbour in earlier times. Before the present Government House was built, Presidents or Commissioners, as the Islands’ principal officers were called, lived on their own private estate or on lands leased for the purpose.
The original House was a simple structure with two reception rooms above. The ground floor was made of cement while the upper floor was wooden with covered balconies on three sides. In August 1924 a hurricane destroyed the wooden structure and the entire building was gutted. The same hurricane also destroyed the other major Government buildings in Road Town. All these buildings lost during the hurricane were rebuilt with funds made available by the British Government of the day in 1926.
At the height of the 1924 hurricane, a two mastered schooner, the ‘Fajardino’, carrying a cargo of contraband whisky buried under a cargo of charcoal, destined to Puerto Rico was washed ashore and grounded on the area where the tennis court is now situated. One sailor was killed in the grounding.
Before the land on the seaward side of the property was reclaimed a public road ran through the grounds. At that time the Governor was obliged to travel around the island on horseback or from island to island on a cutter named the ‘Lady Constance’, which was moved at the Governor’s Jetty, the remnants of which can be seen across from the house on the other side of Waterfront Drive.
In 1966 her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Tortola and Several Modifications were made to the House prior to the visit. In 1972 her Royal Highness Princess Margaret made a visit and stayed at Government House for five days. It was at this time that the covered patio was added and other improvements were carried out especially in the upstairs bedrooms. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and HRH Prince Philip made a further state visit in 1977. As Her Majesty was unable to visit all the British dependent territories the heads of three neighboring territories were invited to Tortola for the visit. His Royal Highness Prince Philip paid a further visit abroad the Royal Yacht Britannia in 1993 and was entertained at the Government House.
One of the striking interior features to be added in recent times are the murals in the dining room. These were painted on the initiative of Mrs. Magaret Barwick, wife of the Governor at the time, by a collection of local artists living on Tortola. They depict the scenes around Government House as they would have been at the turn of the century or before.
It was Margaret Barwick during her time in the BVI form 1982-86 who was responsible for the extensive renovation of the Government House gardens. Covering some 3 acres in extent they are rightly regarded as one of the most beautiful Government House gardens throughout the Caribbean. The gardens were used as a nursery for the development of the Botanical Gardens in Road Town, named after Mr. JR O’Neal one of the BVI’s foremost citizens. A more recent addition to the gardens is the swimming pool built with BVI government funds in 1980. Many of these gardens mentioned above were destroyed with the building of the new government house. The pool mentioned above was one of these casualties.
Before the land on the seaward side of the property was reclaimed a public road ran through the grounds. At that time the Governor was obliged to travel around the island on horseback or from island to island on a cutter named the ‘Lady Constance’, which was moved at the Governor’s Jetty, the remnants of which can be seen across from the house on the other side of Waterfront Drive.
In 1966 her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Tortola and Several Modifications were made to the House prior to the visit. In 1972 her Royal Highness Princess Margaret made a visit and stayed at Government House for five days. It was at this time that the covered patio was added and other improvements were carried out especially in the upstairs bedrooms. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and HRH Prince Philip made a further state visit in 1977. As Her Majesty was unable to visit all the British dependent territories the heads of three neighboring territories were invited to Tortola for the visit. His Royal Highness Prince Philip paid a further visit abroad the Royal Yacht Britannia in 1993 and was entertained at the Government House.
One of the striking interior features to be added in recent times are the murals in the dining room. These were painted on the initiative of Mrs. Magaret Barwick, wife of the Governor at the time, by a collection of local artists living on Tortola. They depict the scenes around Government House as they would have been at the turn of the century or before.
It was Margaret Barwick during her time in the BVI form 1982-86 who was responsible for the extensive renovation of the Government House gardens. Covering some 3 acres in extent they are rightly regarded as one of the most beautiful Government House gardens throughout the Caribbean. The gardens were used as a nursery for the development of the Botanical Gardens in Road Town, named after Mr. JR O’Neal one of the BVI’s foremost citizens. A more recent addition to the gardens is the swimming pool built with BVI government funds in 1980. Many of these gardens mentioned above were destroyed with the building of the new government house. The pool mentioned above was one of these casualties.