Verdmont (1710). Original front facade. The balcony has been reconstructed. Descendants lived in the house until 1951, never modernizing it with indoor plumbing or electricity. It is an excellently preserved early 18th century house. 6 Verdmont Lane. P1180334
For our second day in Bermuda, Susan and I planned to see the Verdmont house museum and then explore the city of Hamilton. Verdmont is out in the country, about halfway between Hamilton and St. George. Getting there requires taking a bus. (Or renting a scooter. Visitors may not rent cars in Bermuda.) Another SeaExpress ferry took us form the Dockyard across Great Sound to Hamilton. There were rain squalls along the way, but the rain had let up by the time we docked in Hamilton. Next, we needed to find the bus terminal.
The Hamilton bus terminal is next to City Hall on Church Street. Its very busy, showing the popularity of bus transport. We caught a Line 1 bus from Hamilton to St. George, along the South Highway.Following proper Bermuda bus protocol, we addressed the bus driver with a cheerful Good Morning! We then asked her to drop us at the stop nearest Verdmont, whch she agreed to do. The bus ride was scenic and we passed the Botanic Gardens and a number of suburban houses and Most of the riders were locals. As someone boarded the bus, he or she greeted everyone with a Good
After a period of time, Susan noticed a roadside sign for Verdmont pointing in the other direction! Oops, the driver had forgotten to let us off and we were now several miles past the site. She let us off in the middle of the countryside and advised us to take the next bus heading back towards Hamilton. That driver would let us off at Verdmont.
Well, the way I looked at it, we were able to see more of Smiths Parish and I was able to take more photos! After about half an hour, another bus and picked us up. In the meantime, traffic on the South Highway had been heavy with cars, taxis, trucks, and scooters. (Scooters are popular with locals and visitors.) The new bus did let us off at Verdmont. It was just a short walk up the driveway to the house.
Verdmont is the best preserved colonial house in Bermuda. Verdmont house was built about 1710 by John Dickinson, a prominent colonial ship owner. The grounds of Verdmont once stretched all the way across Bermudas Smiths Parish. Unlike most houses of the time, Verdmont
was built on a hill. It was privately owned until 1951 and was never fitted for indoor plumbing or electricity. The Bermuda National Trust has collected excellent pieces of colonial furniture with which to furnish it. Few people were there. Shortly after our tour began, a couple from Ottawa we had seen the previous day at the Tucker House arrived. They were seeking out historic houses as were we. After looking around the house and grounds and enjoying the view down towards the ocean, we caught a pink Bermuda Breeze bus back to Hamilton.
Entering town, the bus traversed the roundabout where a local fellow named Johnny Barnes has famous for greeting morning rush hour traffic. He was already gone for the day, but Susan spotted the him. Unfortunately, it was on the opposite side of the bus, so no photo.
Once in Hamilton, Susan and I decided to hop off along Front Street rather than ride back to the terminal. Time to find a place for lunch and look at some of the stores. A rain squall came up about then, but we were dry under the arcades that line the sidewalk. We
the enslaved people at Verdmont. UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples: Resistance, Liberty and Heritage Project. P1180330
decided on lunch at the Hog Penny pub, where interior fittings taken from a former London pub add authenticity.
Everything is imported into Bermuda and it is not a shopping destination like many of the Caribbean islands are. There are British stores, like Marks and Spencer and specialty stores. At Front and Queen Streets, however, is Gosling Brothers, purveyors of famous Bermuda rum and other spirits.
