Bodden Town Guardhouse Park

Bodden Town Guardhouse Park is laid out on the shore of the bay at Bodden Town on Grand Cayman: Bodden Town was at that time the capital of the Cayman Islands. There is today no sign of the Guardhouse which once stood here. Records tell that it was both a fort and gaol, built in the nineteenth century.

The park was created by and remains owned by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands.

History

Bodden Town served as the seat of Government for the Cayman Islands for many years. The Chief Magistrate of the islands, William Bodden, resided there. During his tenure (1798-1823) the first roads, places of worship, forts and ships to be built on the islands were completed.

In the 1830's, various Government activities were conducted in the town, including the court held by the justices of the peace, and a gaol was established at Boddne Town. The local laws of Grand Cayman, a document dating from this period states that "In 1839, the prisoners at Pedro Castle were transferred to the Guard House at Bodden Town."

By the end of the eighteenth century there were forts in George Town and Prospect, but the harbour at Bodden Town was not protected. It is believed that the defense in the town was the Guard House and Gun Square.

Although there is no living memory of a building on the site, generations of local citizens have always referred to this location as Guard House Hill or the Guard House. It is thought that the local volunteer militia would have needed a building to store their weapons and a base from which to make their patrols.

Situated on rising ground, commanding both land and sea approached, older residents do recall the site being equipped with two small cannon. There are, no records of any major attacks on Grand Cayman and as the threats of attack or invasion diminished so the islands defenses fell into ruin. By the end of the nineteenth century, all that remained on the Guard House site were the two cannons and the name.

In 1990 the Bodden Town District Committee of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands selected to enhance the site by creating a small historic park, levelling the gorund, proectinhg it with a low stone wall,,landscapeing and planting.

The original cannons had disappeared, were replaced by two cannon donated by the people of East End salvaged from the infamous Wreck of the Ten Sail, which occurred on their reef in 1794.

Outside links

• Bodden Town Guardhouse Park: National Trust